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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 120 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. race — a contest
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pit — a hole
  6. pit — in a race
  7. track — a path
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. kid — child
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. race — the arms race
  12. chair — a leader
  13. kid — to tease
  14. stock — goods
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. track — to keep track
  20. fine — high quality
  21. stock — shares
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. race — humankind
  24. fine — all right

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