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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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. land — a country
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. stock — goods
  6. cell — a phone
  7. stock — shares
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. sharp — clever
  10. race — a contest
  11. stem — to come from
  12. race — humankind
  13. land — ground
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. land — to come down
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. race — the arms race
  20. cell — in biology
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. sharp — exactly

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