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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. prune — to trim
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. race — the arms race
  7. stock — goods
  8. rush — hurry
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. march — the month
  11. bat — the animal
  12. march — the month
  13. prune — to trim
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. kid — child
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. march — music
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — humankind
  23. kid — to tease
  24. stock — shares

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