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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: bowl · mate · track · spring · race · press · stock · march

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. stock — goods
  3. march — the month
  4. spring — a coil
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. spring — of water
  8. track — a song
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. track — a path
  11. mate — a partner
  12. spring — the season
  13. race — humankind
  14. press — newspapers
  15. mate — a friend
  16. press — a publisher
  17. track — to keep track
  18. stock — shares
  19. march — the month
  20. mate — to breed
  21. race — the arms race
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. race — a contest
  24. press — to push

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