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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. stock — shares
  3. clip — for paper
  4. fine — high quality
  5. fine — all right
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. rock — a stone
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. clip — a video
  11. race — humankind
  12. march — the month
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. stock — goods
  15. march — the month
  16. rock — music
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. branch — a division
  19. march — music
  20. clip — to cut
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. bark — to shout
  23. race — the arms race
  24. branch — of a tree

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