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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. race — humankind
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. last — to go on
  6. wound — an injury
  7. last — finally
  8. march — the month
  9. rest — what's left
  10. bat — the animal
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — goods
  13. mark — a grade
  14. mark — a trace
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. wound — an injury
  17. march — music
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. rest — what's left
  20. last — final
  21. march — the month
  22. race — the arms race
  23. rest — a break
  24. stock — a soup base

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