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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: cell · wind · race · row · rule · stock

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. race — a contest
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. cell — in biology
  6. row — to paddle
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — humankind
  9. rule — government
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. cell — a phone
  13. stock — shares
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. row — a line
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — a soup base

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