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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. race — the arms race
  3. cap — a hat
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — a box
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. cap — of ice
  10. race — humankind
  11. stock — shares
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. last — finally
  14. last — to go on
  15. stock — goods
  16. cap — a lid
  17. chest — of your body
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. band — a music group
  20. band — a ring
  21. last — final
  22. stand — to bear
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. band — a rubber band

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