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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — to tease
  4. race — humankind
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. bound — obliged
  7. lean — to bend
  8. stock — shares
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. lean — thin
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — in sport
  13. pitch — completely
  14. race — the arms race
  15. bound — certain
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. bound — tied together
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. net — after costs
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. race — a contest
  24. nail — on a finger

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