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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. race — a contest
  4. stock — goods
  5. cap — of ice
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — humankind
  8. present — the time now
  9. tube — the underground
  10. present — there
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. stock — shares
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. game — a match
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. present — a gift
  17. tube — a container
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. cap — a lid
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. cap — a hat
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. game — wild animals

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