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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. race — a contest
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. band — a music group
  5. jam — a tight spot
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. stock — goods
  8. toast — bread
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. race — the arms race
  13. cold — not warm
  14. pass — a permit
  15. chip — for betting
  16. stock — shares
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. race — humankind
  19. cold — an illness
  20. chip — to eat
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. jam — in traffic

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