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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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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: wind · mark · race · press · kid · stock · court · toast

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  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 — a soup base
  2. court — for sport
  3. race — humankind
  4. court — of law
  5. court — of a king
  6. mark — a trace
  7. kid — to tease
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. press — newspapers
  10. wind — moving air
  11. toast — bread
  12. stock — shares
  13. kid — child
  14. stock — goods
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. press — to push
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. race — a contest
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. toast — a drink to someone
  22. press — a publisher
  23. mark — a grade
  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