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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. saw — the tool
  3. race — the arms race
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. squash — the sport
  7. mate — a partner
  8. race — humankind
  9. land — ground
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. race — a contest
  12. stock — shares
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. tear — from crying
  15. mate — a friend
  16. tear — from crying
  17. saw — the tool
  18. tear — to rip
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. land — a country
  21. mate — to breed
  22. squash — to crush
  23. land — to come down
  24. stock — a soup base

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