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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: wind · present · race · club · fall · stock

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. race — humankind
  3. club — for dancing
  4. fall — the season
  5. stock — goods
  6. fall — to drop
  7. present — there
  8. race — the arms race
  9. present — the time now
  10. present — a gift
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. race — a contest
  13. wind — moving air
  14. club — a group
  15. fall — to drop
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. club — for golf
  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