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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. stock — shares
  3. race — humankind
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fine — all right
  9. race — the arms race
  10. row — a line
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. cold — not warm
  13. race — a contest
  14. stock — goods
  15. mine — for digging
  16. prune — to trim
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. deal — to handle
  24. fine — high quality

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