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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. tear — to rip
  3. race — humankind
  4. row — to paddle
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. rock — music
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. race — a contest
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. cell — a phone
  14. stock — shares
  15. tear — from crying
  16. ball — a great time
  17. rock — a stone
  18. race — the arms race
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. row — a line
  21. stock — goods
  22. cell — in biology
  23. ball — a dance
  24. tear — from crying

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