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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. stock — shares
  7. net — after costs
  8. pass — a permit
  9. race — a contest
  10. race — the arms race
  11. branch — a division
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. tear — from crying
  14. pit — a hole
  15. stock — goods
  16. row — to paddle
  17. tear — to rip
  18. row — a line
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. net — in sport
  21. race — humankind
  22. tear — from crying
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. pit — in a race

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