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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  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. mark — a grade
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. stock — goods
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. race — the arms race
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. squash — to crush
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cold — not warm
  13. squash — the sport
  14. race — humankind
  15. mark — a trace
  16. bank — of a river
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bank — for money
  19. cold — an illness
  20. stock — shares
  21. prune — to trim
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. bank — for money
  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