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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: straw · lean · drill · rash · cap · race · stock · pitch

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. lean — to bend
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. stock — shares
  6. cap — a hat
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. rash — hasty
  9. race — humankind
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. cap — of ice
  12. lean — thin
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. drill — army training
  17. drill — the tool
  18. race — a contest
  19. rash — a series
  20. cap — a lid
  21. pitch — completely
  22. drill — a practice
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. race — the arms race

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