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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: stock · hand · tube · cold · temple · race · spell · bowl

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. race — a contest
  3. spell — a short time
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. tube — the underground
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. race — the arms race
  11. spell — letters
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. spell — magic
  14. tube — a container
  15. stock — goods
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — an illness
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. hand — in cards
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. stock — shares
  23. hand — help
  24. cold — not warm

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