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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. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. charge — a price
  3. court — for sport
  4. bass — the fish
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bass — low music
  8. bat — the animal
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. stock — shares
  11. charge — electricity
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. race — the arms race
  14. court — of a king
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. charge — in control
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — the tool
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. race — humankind
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. stock — goods
  24. court — of law

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