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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.

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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: fan · march · foot · row · last · stock · drill · race

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. race — humankind
  3. last — to go on
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. race — a contest
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. row — to paddle
  9. march — music
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. march — the month
  12. last — final
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. row — a line
  16. foot — a measure
  17. stock — shares
  18. last — finally
  19. stock — goods
  20. drill — army training
  21. march — the month
  22. drill — the tool
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. race — the arms race

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