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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. mate — to breed
  3. race — humankind
  4. cap — a hat
  5. race — a contest
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stock — goods
  8. mate — a friend
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. stock — shares
  11. mine — for digging
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. cell — in biology
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. bass — low music
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. cap — a lid
  20. bass — the fish
  21. race — the arms race
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. mate — a partner
  24. cell — a phone

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