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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. race — the arms race
  3. tube — the underground
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. stand — to bear
  7. race — a contest
  8. scale — size or range
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. scale — in music
  13. race — humankind
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. stock — shares
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. tube — a container
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. saw — the tool
  22. bear — the animal
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. tube — in a tire

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