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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. race — humankind
  4. stock — shares
  5. race — the arms race
  6. tube — the underground
  7. squash — the sport
  8. wind — moving air
  9. march — the month
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stock — goods
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. march — music
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. tube — a container
  22. race — a contest
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. march — the month

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