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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 120 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. race — the arms race
  3. spell — magic
  4. spell — a short time
  5. stock — goods
  6. drill — army training
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. drill — the tool
  9. band — a music group
  10. pitch — completely
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. stock — shares
  14. drill — a practice
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. cold — an illness
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. pass — a permit
  20. band — a ring
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. race — humankind
  23. race — a contest
  24. cold — not warm

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