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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. race — the arms race
  3. craft — a skill
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. net — in sport
  7. root — of a word
  8. root — of a plant
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. net — after costs
  11. root — the cause
  12. chair — a leader
  13. stock — shares
  14. craft — boats
  15. net — for catching
  16. race — humankind
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. drill — army training
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. drill — a practice
  22. drill — the tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. race — a contest

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