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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. pit — in a race
  3. spell — magic
  4. wound — an injury
  5. stock — goods
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. ball — a great time
  8. wound — an injury
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. ball — a dance
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. race — a contest
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. spell — a short time
  16. spell — letters
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. race — the arms race
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pit — a hole
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. bark — to shout
  23. stock — shares
  24. bark — of a tree

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