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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 120 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. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. stock — shares
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. mate — to breed
  6. board — a committee
  7. cold — not warm
  8. stock — goods
  9. mate — a partner
  10. race — the arms race
  11. club — a group
  12. cold — an illness
  13. race — humankind
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. race — a contest
  18. club — for golf
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. mate — a friend
  22. club — for dancing
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. board — to get on

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