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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. race — a contest
  3. lie — to recline
  4. rash — hasty
  5. ball — a great time
  6. bank — for money
  7. rash — a series
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. stock — shares
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. bank — of a river
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. race — the arms race
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. roll — a cake
  19. bank — for money
  20. race — humankind
  21. cold — an illness
  22. roll — a list
  23. ball — a dance
  24. stock — goods

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