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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: stock · press · fall · hand · court · race · bark · drill

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. drill — a practice
  3. race — the arms race
  4. press — newspapers
  5. hand — help
  6. court — of a king
  7. hand — in cards
  8. stock — goods
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — the tool
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. court — of law
  14. fall — to drop
  15. court — for sport
  16. race — humankind
  17. fall — the season
  18. press — a publisher
  19. race — a contest
  20. stock — shares
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. press — to push
  23. bark — to shout
  24. fall — to drop

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