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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. ground — crushed
  3. race — humankind
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. ground — a position
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. fall — to drop
  9. ground — the earth
  10. fall — to drop
  11. stock — goods
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — a contest
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — of water
  19. fall — the season
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. spring — the season
  22. stock — shares
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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