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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: land · track · saw · stock · shower · race · present · snap

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. stock — goods
  3. race — a contest
  4. track — a song
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. race — the arms race
  7. snap — to click
  8. race — humankind
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. saw — the tool
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. present — there
  13. present — the time now
  14. stock — shares
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. shower — rain
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. land — ground
  19. saw — the tool
  20. land — to come down
  21. track — to keep track
  22. land — a country
  23. present — a gift
  24. shower — to wash

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