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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. tear — to rip
  3. object — an aim
  4. press — newspapers
  5. race — humankind
  6. ground — a position
  7. object — a thing
  8. land — to come down
  9. press — to push
  10. ground — the earth
  11. race — a contest
  12. stock — goods
  13. stock — shares
  14. kid — child
  15. ground — crushed
  16. tear — from crying
  17. kid — to tease
  18. land — a country
  19. land — ground
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. race — the arms race
  22. tear — from crying
  23. press — a publisher
  24. stock — a soup base

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