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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 · bark · mine · race · bowl · hand · mark · march

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. hand — help
  6. bark — to shout
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. race — a contest
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. mine — for digging
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. stock — goods
  16. race — the arms race
  17. stock — shares
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mark — a grade
  21. race — humankind
  22. mark — a trace
  23. march — music
  24. hand — part of the body

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