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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 120 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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. stock — goods
  3. race — a contest
  4. bore — to drill
  5. craft — boats
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stock — shares
  8. clip — to cut
  9. race — the arms race
  10. wind — moving air
  11. field — farmland
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. wind — moving air
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. bore — to tire
  16. clip — a video
  17. field — for sport
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. game — a match
  20. race — humankind
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. craft — a skill
  23. field — a subject
  24. clip — for paper

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