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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. race — humankind
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. stock — shares
  6. ball — a great time
  7. plane — a tool
  8. ball — a dance
  9. race — a contest
  10. wake — a trail
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. stock — goods
  14. race — the arms race
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. march — music
  17. rash — a series
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. rash — hasty
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. plane — an aircraft

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