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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. stock — goods
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — not warm
  11. lie — to recline
  12. shower — to wash
  13. fine — all right
  14. fine — high quality
  15. chest — a box
  16. race — humankind
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. perch — the fish
  19. stock — shares
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. shower — rain
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. race — a contest

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