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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. stock — shares
  4. last — to go on
  5. branch — a division
  6. tear — from crying
  7. last — final
  8. ground — crushed
  9. tear — from crying
  10. last — finally
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. rule — a law
  13. race — a contest
  14. rule — government
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — a position
  17. branch — of a tree
  18. race — the arms race
  19. tear — to rip
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. race — humankind
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. racket — for tennis

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