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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: firm · race · jam · stock · rule · fan · cold · plane

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. rule — government
  3. firm — decided
  4. plane — a tool
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. stock — goods
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — not warm
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. race — humankind
  11. firm — a company
  12. cold — an illness
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. rule — a law
  16. race — a contest
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. race — the arms race
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. firm — steady
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. 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