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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. stock — shares
  3. race — a contest
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. court — of law
  6. mate — a friend
  7. band — a ring
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. court — of a king
  11. mate — a partner
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. race — the arms race
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. stock — goods
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. court — for sport
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. race — humankind
  21. band — a music group
  22. mate — to breed
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. rush — to hurry

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