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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: can · kid · wind · wave · cell · race · stock · bore

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. can — a tin
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. stock — shares
  5. cell — in biology
  6. kid — to tease
  7. stock — goods
  8. kid — child
  9. race — humankind
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bore — to tire
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — a phone
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. race — the arms race
  18. can — to be able to
  19. can — a tin
  20. bore — to drill
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. race — a contest

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