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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: race · stock · bowl · last · cap · tear · hand · spell

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. race — the arms race
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. spell — magic
  7. last — finally
  8. cap — of ice
  9. stock — shares
  10. hand — help
  11. cap — a hat
  12. tear — from crying
  13. race — a contest
  14. race — humankind
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. last — to go on
  17. stock — goods
  18. last — final
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  24. cap — a lid

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