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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. race — a contest
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — shares
  7. track — to keep track
  8. mug — a cup
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. track — a path
  12. march — the month
  13. staff — employees
  14. race — humankind
  15. track — a song
  16. spring — the season
  17. stock — goods
  18. race — the arms race
  19. staff — employees
  20. spring — a coil
  21. mug — to rob
  22. spring — of water
  23. staff — a stick
  24. tear — from crying

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