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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. snap — to click
  3. race — the arms race
  4. spring — the season
  5. court — of a king
  6. row — to paddle
  7. stock — goods
  8. stock — shares
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. race — humankind
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. race — a contest
  13. court — of law
  14. season — of the year
  15. season — in sport
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. row — a line
  18. chip — for betting
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. court — for sport
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — of water
  24. chip — to eat

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