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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. pitch — completely
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. race — the arms race
  8. stock — shares
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. pass — a permit
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. hand — in cards
  14. stock — goods
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. march — the month
  18. race — a contest
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. race — humankind
  24. stock — a soup base

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