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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. race — humankind
  3. stock — goods
  4. capital — money
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. race — a contest
  7. bound — tied together
  8. capital — a city
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. bound — obliged
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. race — the arms race
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. band — a ring
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. band — a music group
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. bound — certain
  24. stand — to bear

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