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

Word bank: stock · chair · snap · race · squash · swing · clip · stick

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. race — the arms race
  5. clip — a video
  6. snap — to click
  7. stock — goods
  8. race — a contest
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. swing — to play on
  11. squash — to crush
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stock — shares
  14. clip — for paper
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. swing — music
  19. squash — the sport
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. chair — a leader
  22. swing — in golf
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. clip — to cut

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