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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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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: fan · dip · stock · deal · wound · spring · pop · race

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. pop — soda
  3. wound — an injury
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. spring — a coil
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. race — a contest
  8. dip — to sink
  9. race — humankind
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. race — the arms race
  12. deal — to handle
  13. spring — of water
  14. stock — goods
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. stock — shares
  17. pop — to visit
  18. spring — the season
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. pop — music
  23. wound — an injury
  24. deal — a big deal

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