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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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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: cold · nail · bay · cabinet · mate · stock · racket · race

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. mate — a partner
  3. stock — shares
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. race — the arms race
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. cold — an illness
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. race — humankind
  16. cold — not warm
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. mate — a friend
  20. mate — to breed
  21. race — a contest
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. stock — goods
  24. cabinet — ministers

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