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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: wave · mine · pop · ground · stock · game · race · rest

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. stock — goods
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. pop — soda
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — the arms race
  7. rest — what's left
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. ground — a position
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. stock — shares
  16. ground — the earth
  17. rest — a break
  18. game — a match
  19. pop — music
  20. mine — for digging
  21. game — wild animals
  22. race — humankind
  23. rest — what's left
  24. ground — crushed

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