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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. degree — an amount
  3. race — a contest
  4. race — the arms race
  5. wake — a trail
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. capital — money
  8. stock — goods
  9. race — humankind
  10. degree — temperature
  11. club — for dancing
  12. bore — to tire
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. club — a group
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. degree — from a university
  19. capital — a city
  20. squash — the sport
  21. bore — to drill
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. stock — shares
  24. club — for golf

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