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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. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — goods
  4. craft — boats
  5. mate — a partner
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. stock — shares
  9. race — humankind
  10. dip — to sink
  11. spring — of water
  12. wound — an injury
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — letters
  16. race — a contest
  17. mate — a friend
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. mate — to breed
  20. wound — an injury
  21. spring — the season
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. spell — magic
  24. craft — a skill

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