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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 116 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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. game — a match
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. saw — the tool
  5. race — a contest
  6. stock — goods
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. lean — thin
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. stock — shares
  16. row — a line
  17. row — to paddle
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. lean — to bend
  21. race — the arms race
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. saw — the tool
  24. game — wild animals

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