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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. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — in geometry
  2. stock — shares
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. plane — a tool
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. wound — an injury
  9. snap — to click
  10. race — a contest
  11. rest — a break
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. rest — what's left
  14. fall — to drop
  15. race — humankind
  16. fall — to drop
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — in cards
  20. fall — the season
  21. rest — what's left
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. stock — goods
  24. race — the arms race

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