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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 116 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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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 · pound · stand · stick · shower · bat · stock · tear

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. stock — shares
  3. race — a contest
  4. bat — the animal
  5. shower — to wash
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. tear — from crying
  11. race — the arms race
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. tear — from crying
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. tear — to rip
  17. stock — goods
  18. pound — a weight
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. stand — to bear
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. shower — rain

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