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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: race · fan · stock · bass · ground · face · spring · pop

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  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. fan — a supporter
  2. pop — soda
  3. race — the arms race
  4. pop — to visit
  5. spring — the season
  6. race — a contest
  7. face — to point toward
  8. race — humankind
  9. pop — music
  10. ground — the earth
  11. spring — of water
  12. face — part of the head
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. spring — a coil
  17. bass — the fish
  18. stock — shares
  19. face — to confront
  20. ground — a position
  21. bass — low music
  22. ground — crushed
  23. bass — the instrument
  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