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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: stock · tear · sharp · rule · toast · bowl · race · net

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. rule — government
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. race — the arms race
  5. toast — bread
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. rule — a law
  10. net — after costs
  11. race — humankind
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — in sport
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — shares
  16. tear — from crying
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. stock — goods
  20. tear — to rip
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. tear — from crying
  23. sharp — clever
  24. sharp — exactly

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