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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: track · rash · pop · ground · cell · stock · patient · race

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. race — the arms race
  2. cell — in biology
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. rash — hasty
  5. pop — to visit
  6. track — to keep track
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. race — humankind
  9. pop — music
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. ground — crushed
  12. rash — a series
  13. ground — the earth
  14. track — a song
  15. cell — a phone
  16. pop — soda
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. stock — shares
  20. race — a contest
  21. track — a path
  22. ground — a position
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. stock — goods

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