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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. chest — of your body
  4. stock — shares
  5. chip — for betting
  6. lean — to bend
  7. net — after costs
  8. net — in sport
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bore — to tire
  11. bore — to drill
  12. race — the arms race
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. spring — of water
  15. race — a contest
  16. net — for catching
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. spring — a coil
  19. stock — goods
  20. race — humankind
  21. chest — a box
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chip — to eat
  24. spring — the season

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