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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: lie · court · stock · toast · spell · drill · race · can

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  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. can — a tin
  2. can — to be able to
  3. toast — bread
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. spell — magic
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. spell — letters
  8. lie — to recline
  9. drill — the tool
  10. stock — shares
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — army training
  13. stock — goods
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. can — a tin
  17. race — humankind
  18. court — of a king
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. court — for sport
  21. race — a contest
  22. spell — a short time
  23. court — of law
  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