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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. race — a contest
  6. pitch — completely
  7. stock — shares
  8. race — humankind
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stock — goods
  12. land — a country
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. race — the arms race
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. land — to come down
  23. mine — for digging
  24. racket — for tennis

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