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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. When will it ________________ you to start?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. drill — the tool
  3. cold — not warm
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. suit — clothes
  6. object — to protest
  7. content — happy
  8. suit — to fit
  9. drill — a practice
  10. suit — in cards
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. content — the amount
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. object — a thing
  15. kid — child
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. object — an aim
  18. race — humankind
  19. race — the arms race
  20. race — a contest
  21. drill — army training
  22. stock — shares
  23. kid — to tease
  24. cold — an illness

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