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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 116 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: stock · wave · chair · mine · race · bear · capital · rush

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. stock — shares
  3. mine — for digging
  4. chair — a leader
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. capital — money
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — the arms race
  10. rush — hurry
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. bear — the animal
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. capital — a city
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. stock — goods
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. race — humankind
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. bear — the animal

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