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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: race · chip · tear · key · wound · stock · nail · snap

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. wound — an injury
  3. key — for a lock
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. race — humankind
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. key — in music
  9. snap — to click
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. tear — from crying
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. race — the arms race
  14. chip — for betting
  15. tear — to rip
  16. wound — an injury
  17. key — the most important part
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. tear — from crying
  20. stock — goods
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. stock — shares
  24. chip — to eat

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