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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. race — the arms race
  4. prune — to trim
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. mine — for digging
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. race — a contest
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cell — in biology
  14. wind — moving air
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. race — humankind
  17. stock — shares
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. stock — goods
  20. rush — hurry
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. mine — belonging to me

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