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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. land — a country
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. race — the arms race
  8. shower — to wash
  9. land — to come down
  10. race — humankind
  11. wound — an injury
  12. stock — shares
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. stock — goods
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. chair — a leader
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. race — a contest
  20. shower — rain
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. land — ground
  23. wound — an injury
  24. fan — a supporter

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