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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. drill — army training
  3. drill — a practice
  4. club — for golf
  5. content — happy
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. degree — from a university
  8. club — for dancing
  9. race — the arms race
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. content — the amount
  12. stock — shares
  13. lean — to bend
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. stock — goods
  17. drill — the tool
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. race — humankind
  20. lean — thin
  21. degree — temperature
  22. race — a contest
  23. degree — an amount
  24. club — a group

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