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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 · mark · staff · club · lash · last · drill · cold

  1. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. staff — employees
  3. last — finally
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. last — final
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cold — not warm
  9. stock — shares
  10. club — for golf
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. drill — army training
  13. staff — a stick
  14. drill — the tool
  15. mark — a grade
  16. club — for dancing
  17. mark — a trace
  18. staff — employees
  19. stock — goods
  20. last — to go on
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. club — a group
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. drill — a practice

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