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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. race — the arms race
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. stock — goods
  5. squash — the sport
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. net — in sport
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. stock — shares
  12. race — a contest
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. spell — magic
  15. net — after costs
  16. ball — a great time
  17. spell — a short time
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. spell — letters
  20. ball — a dance
  21. squash — to crush
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. net — for catching
  24. race — humankind

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