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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: stock · race · foot · row · hand · rule · wound · lie

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  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. foot — a measure
  2. hand — help
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. foot — part of the body
  6. row — to paddle
  7. race — a contest
  8. lie — to recline
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. wound — an injury
  12. rule — a law
  13. race — the arms race
  14. hand — in cards
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. stock — shares
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. wound — an injury
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. rule — government
  22. stock — goods
  23. row — a line
  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