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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 ________________ went through the wall.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  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. nail — for a hammer
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — goods
  4. race — humankind
  5. roll — a list
  6. wind — moving air
  7. land — a country
  8. fine — all right
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. capital — money
  11. land — ground
  12. land — to come down
  13. roll — a cake
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. capital — a city
  16. race — a contest
  17. stock — shares
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. race — the arms race
  21. fine — high quality
  22. wind — moving air
  23. fine — a penalty
  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