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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · rush · snap · perch · tube · stock · row · game

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. stock — shares
  3. rush — hurry
  4. tube — the underground
  5. game — wild animals
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. race — the arms race
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — to paddle
  11. race — humankind
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. race — a contest
  14. perch — the fish
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. row — a line
  17. game — a match
  18. stock — goods
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. snap — to click
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tube — a container
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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