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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 116 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. race — the arms race
  3. stock — shares
  4. race — a contest
  5. stock — goods
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. bound — obliged
  8. cold — an illness
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. cold — not warm
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. bound — certain
  13. race — humankind
  14. rest — what's left
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. tear — from crying
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bound — tied together
  19. rest — a break
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. tear — to rip
  22. tear — from crying
  23. capital — a city
  24. stock — a soup base

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