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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. race — humankind
  3. key — for a lock
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. pop — music
  7. key — in music
  8. spring — of water
  9. rash — hasty
  10. key — the most important part
  11. race — the arms race
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. can — a tin
  14. can — a tin
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — goods
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — the season
  19. pop — to visit
  20. pop — soda
  21. race — a contest
  22. rash — a series
  23. can — to be able to
  24. stem — to come from

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