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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 116 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: hand · scale · fork · race · wind · object · stock · last

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. last — finally
  3. object — to protest
  4. wind — moving air
  5. scale — in music
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. stock — shares
  8. last — to go on
  9. stock — goods
  10. wind — moving air
  11. fork — in a road
  12. last — final
  13. scale — size or range
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — the arms race
  16. object — an aim
  17. hand — in cards
  18. race — a contest
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. object — a thing
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. hand — help

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