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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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. game — a match
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. last — finally
  5. rock — music
  6. rock — a stone
  7. shower — rain
  8. saw — the tool
  9. game — wild animals
  10. stock — goods
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. last — to go on
  13. race — humankind
  14. race — the arms race
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — shares
  20. shower — to wash
  21. race — a contest
  22. last — final
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. saw — the tool

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