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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  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. race — a contest
  2. cold — an illness
  3. wake — a trail
  4. chip — for betting
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. stock — shares
  7. chip — to eat
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. field — farmland
  10. race — humankind
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. field — a subject
  13. race — the arms race
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — certain
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. bound — tied together
  19. bore — to drill
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. field — for sport
  23. bore — to tire
  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