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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: race · chest · mouse · rest · rash · stock · trunk · rock

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. stock — shares
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rock — music
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. chest — a box
  11. race — humankind
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rash — hasty
  14. rash — a series
  15. chest — of your body
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. rest — a break
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. stock — goods
  23. rock — a stone
  24. race — the arms race

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