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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. race — humankind
  3. mark — a trace
  4. mark — a grade
  5. chest — of your body
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. chest — of your body
  8. charge — in control
  9. stock — shares
  10. charge — electricity
  11. land — a country
  12. cold — an illness
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. charge — a price
  15. race — the arms race
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. land — ground
  19. chest — a box
  20. cold — not warm
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. land — to come down
  23. race — a contest
  24. mark — to pay attention

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