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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. hand — in cards
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. stock — goods
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. race — a contest
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. swing — music
  12. mark — a trace
  13. swing — to play on
  14. hand — help
  15. chip — to eat
  16. branch — a division
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. swing — in golf
  19. mark — a grade
  20. race — the arms race
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. stock — shares
  23. race — humankind
  24. chip — for betting

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com