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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 · tear · wave · race · bark · squash

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. race — the arms race
  3. stock — goods
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. tear — to rip
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. race — a contest
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. bark — to shout
  10. race — humankind
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. squash — to crush
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. tear — from crying
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. tear — from crying
  18. 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