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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — a contest
  7. toast — bread
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. chest — a box
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. sharp — clever
  12. land — to come down
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. land — a country
  15. row — to paddle
  16. chest — of your body
  17. stock — goods
  18. lie — to recline
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. row — a line
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. stock — shares
  23. race — humankind
  24. chest — of your body

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