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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 · stock · mouse · wake · file · wind · present · temple

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. race — a contest
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. wind — moving air
  10. present — the time now
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. race — the arms race
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a document
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. present — a gift
  18. wake — a trail
  19. stock — shares
  20. race — humankind
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. present — there
  23. file — a tool
  24. wind — moving air

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