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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.

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: charge · board · race · cabinet · wind · stock · hand · squash

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. race — a contest
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. race — the arms race
  5. stock — shares
  6. squash — to crush
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. wind — moving air
  10. charge — electricity
  11. charge — in control
  12. hand — in cards
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. stock — goods
  16. race — humankind
  17. hand — help
  18. wind — moving air
  19. board — to get on
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. board — a committee
  24. charge — a price

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