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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: degree · march · rest · stock · staff · race

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. march — the month
  3. staff — employees
  4. march — the month
  5. rest — what's left
  6. stock — shares
  7. staff — employees
  8. rest — a break
  9. march — music
  10. degree — an amount
  11. rest — what's left
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. staff — a stick
  14. degree — from a university
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — humankind
  17. degree — temperature
  18. stock — goods

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