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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. file — a tool
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. stock — shares
  5. drill — a practice
  6. file — a document
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. pound — a weight
  10. race — humankind
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. drill — the tool
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. snap — to click
  17. race — the arms race
  18. rash — a series
  19. stock — goods
  20. rash — hasty
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. file — a line of people
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. drill — army training

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