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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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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: chair · scale · stock · race · craft · wake · last · racket

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. last — to go on
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. craft — a skill
  5. race — the arms race
  6. stock — shares
  7. last — final
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. last — finally
  10. chair — a leader
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. craft — boats
  13. wake — a trail
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. race — humankind
  16. scale — size or range
  17. stock — goods
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. scale — in music
  23. race — a contest
  24. racket — for tennis

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