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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 124 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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. race — a contest
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. race — the arms race
  5. stock — shares
  6. content — happy
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. stock — goods
  9. fall — to drop
  10. content — the amount
  11. sharp — clever
  12. band — a music group
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. fork — in a road
  17. band — a ring
  18. race — humankind
  19. fall — to drop
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. band — a rubber band

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