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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: board · race · band · game · stock · prune · wake · key

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. wake — a trail
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. game — wild animals
  5. prune — to trim
  6. band — a ring
  7. race — a contest
  8. band — a music group
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. stock — goods
  11. key — the most important part
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. race — humankind
  16. key — for a lock
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. game — a match
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. board — to get on
  21. race — the arms race
  22. prune — to trim
  23. key — in music
  24. board — a committee

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