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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. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. stock — goods
  3. race — the arms race
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. fine — high quality
  6. fine — all right
  7. pop — soda
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. pop — music
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. board — a committee
  13. mine — for digging
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. race — a contest
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. race — humankind
  21. pop — to visit
  22. wound — an injury
  23. bat — the animal
  24. stock — shares

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