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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. tube — the underground
  3. plane — a tool
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. stock — shares
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — a container
  10. race — the arms race
  11. plane — in geometry
  12. race — a contest
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. squash — to crush
  16. snap — to click
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. content — happy
  20. stock — goods
  21. squash — the sport
  22. content — the amount
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. race — humankind

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