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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: wake · cabinet · deal · court · lash · drill · stock · race

  1. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. race — humankind
  4. stock — goods
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. court — for sport
  7. stock — shares
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. drill — army training
  12. wake — a trail
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. court — of law
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. deal — to handle
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. drill — the tool
  20. court — of a king
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — the arms race
  23. drill — a practice
  24. cabinet — ministers

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