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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: stand · rash · stock · fall · race · pitcher · season · land

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. rash — hasty
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. land — a country
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. race — the arms race
  7. season — in sport
  8. race — humankind
  9. land — ground
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. rash — a series
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. race — a contest
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. season — of the year
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. fall — to drop
  18. stock — shares
  19. stock — goods
  20. stand — to bear
  21. fall — the season
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. fall — to drop

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