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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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Word bank
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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. race — a contest
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. pass — to spend time
  7. race — humankind
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. pass — a permit
  10. wind — moving air
  11. spring — a coil
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. content — the amount
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. race — the arms race
  16. stock — shares
  17. spring — the season
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. content — happy
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mate — to breed
  22. wind — moving air
  23. spring — of water
  24. stock — goods

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