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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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. object — to protest
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. field — for sport
  6. stock — goods
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — a contest
  9. object — an aim
  10. object — a thing
  11. branch — a division
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. bass — low music
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. field — farmland
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. field — a subject
  18. race — humankind
  19. bass — the fish
  20. staff — a stick
  21. staff — employees
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stock — shares

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