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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: hand · pop · stock · bat · arm · race · plane · track

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. stock — goods
  3. hand — help
  4. track — to keep track
  5. plane — a tool
  6. pop — music
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. pop — to visit
  9. pop — soda
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. race — the arms race
  12. bat — the animal
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. race — a contest
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. track — a path
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. stock — shares
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. hand — in cards
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. race — humankind

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