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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. fall — to drop
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — a break
  5. race — humankind
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. race — the arms race
  9. rest — what's left
  10. fall — the season
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. content — happy
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. stock — shares
  16. race — a contest
  17. squash — to crush
  18. squash — the sport
  19. stock — goods
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. fall — to drop
  22. content — the amount
  23. mine — for digging
  24. mine — belonging to me

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