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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 potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. stock — goods
  3. race — a contest
  4. stock — shares
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. race — the arms race
  8. row — to paddle
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. roll — a cake
  11. saw — the tool
  12. row — a line
  13. roll — a list
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. wound — an injury
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. saw — the tool
  20. chip — for betting
  21. rock — music
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. rock — a stone
  24. race — humankind

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