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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: cue · date · race · stock · drill · face · clip · fork

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. face — to point toward
  3. drill — army training
  4. stock — shares
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. drill — the tool
  7. drill — a practice
  8. fork — in a road
  9. stock — goods
  10. race — the arms race
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. clip — for paper
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. race — a contest
  15. cue — a hint
  16. cue — a signal
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. clip — to cut
  19. face — to confront
  20. face — part of the head
  21. cue — for pool
  22. date — the fruit
  23. race — humankind
  24. clip — a video

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