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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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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: stock · present · degree · race · saw · content · drill · chest

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  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. stock — goods
  2. chest — a box
  3. present — the time now
  4. drill — army training
  5. content — the amount
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. saw — the tool
  9. race — humankind
  10. chest — of your body
  11. saw — the tool
  12. degree — an amount
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. stock — shares
  15. degree — from a university
  16. chest — of your body
  17. present — there
  18. drill — a practice
  19. race — a contest
  20. content — happy
  21. degree — temperature
  22. present — a gift
  23. drill — the tool
  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