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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: shower · drill · lean · toast · race · clip · chip · stock

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. chip — to eat
  3. clip — for paper
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. race — humankind
  6. shower — rain
  7. clip — a video
  8. drill — a practice
  9. race — a contest
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. toast — bread
  12. drill — army training
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. drill — the tool
  15. shower — to wash
  16. clip — to cut
  17. chip — for betting
  18. stock — shares
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. race — the arms race
  22. lean — thin
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. stock — goods

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