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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: spell · stock · march · race · rush · capital · rash · club

  1. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  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. race — the arms race
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. march — the month
  5. rash — hasty
  6. club — a group
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. capital — money
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. rush — hurry
  11. rash — a series
  12. spell — magic
  13. club — for dancing
  14. march — the month
  15. race — a contest
  16. stock — goods
  17. capital — a city
  18. stock — shares
  19. spell — letters
  20. race — humankind
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. club — for golf
  23. spell — a short time
  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