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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. stock — shares
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pit — in a race
  6. march — music
  7. ground — a position
  8. ground — the earth
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. ground — crushed
  11. race — a contest
  12. drill — the tool
  13. drill — army training
  14. march — the month
  15. stem — to come from
  16. drill — a practice
  17. rush — hurry
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. march — the month
  20. stock — goods
  21. race — the arms race
  22. race — humankind
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. stem — a stem cell

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