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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 120 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: race · lean · nail · tube · stock · mine · trunk · rash

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. lean — thin
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. lean — to bend
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. rash — hasty
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. stock — goods
  14. rash — a series
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. tube — a container
  17. mine — for digging
  18. race — humankind
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. stock — shares
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. race — the arms race
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. tube — the underground

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