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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: rest · club · stock · perch · race · coach · pop · straw

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. rest — what's left
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. stock — shares
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. club — for dancing
  8. race — a contest
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. pop — music
  13. rest — a break
  14. pop — to visit
  15. club — for golf
  16. pop — soda
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. club — a group
  21. rest — what's left
  22. race — the arms race
  23. perch — the fish
  24. race — humankind

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