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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. land — to come down
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. race — the arms race
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. race — a contest
  8. plane — a tool
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. fork — in a road
  12. dip — to sink
  13. land — ground
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. scale — size or range
  17. stock — shares
  18. scale — in music
  19. race — humankind
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. land — a country
  23. game — wild animals
  24. game — a match

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