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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. stock — goods
  4. court — of a king
  5. object — an aim
  6. content — happy
  7. court — for sport
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bat — the animal
  10. shower — to wash
  11. saw — the tool
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. object — a thing
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. court — of law
  17. race — humankind
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. shower — rain
  20. saw — the tool
  21. stock — shares
  22. content — the amount
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. object — to protest

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