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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stock — goods
  5. rest — what's left
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. rest — a break
  8. wind — moving air
  9. race — a contest
  10. drill — the tool
  11. march — music
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. drill — a practice
  14. march — the month
  15. race — humankind
  16. drill — army training
  17. rest — what's left
  18. march — the month
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. race — the arms race
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. wind — moving air
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. stock — shares

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