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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: rush · hand · season · march · stock · fine · rule · race

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. season — in sport
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. race — a contest
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. race — humankind
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. hand — in cards
  11. rule — a law
  12. rush — hurry
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. season — of the year
  15. fine — all right
  16. fine — high quality
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — shares
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. race — the arms race
  21. hand — help
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rule — government
  24. march — music

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