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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 120 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. race — humankind
  3. hand — in cards
  4. race — the arms race
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. present — the time now
  8. key — in music
  9. stock — shares
  10. row — a line
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. key — for a lock
  14. key — the most important part
  15. wax — to grow
  16. wax — in the ear
  17. row — to paddle
  18. race — a contest
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. stock — goods
  21. present — there
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. present — a gift
  24. row — a quarrel

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