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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: snap · stick · cold · race · stock · cue · spring · deal

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. spring — of water
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. race — humankind
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. stock — shares
  7. cue — for pool
  8. snap — to click
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. cold — not warm
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. race — a contest
  15. spring — the season
  16. cue — a signal
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. cold — an illness
  20. race — the arms race
  21. spring — a coil
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. stock — goods
  24. deal — to handle

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