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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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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: board · fork · net · row · stock · cap · race · tear

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. race — humankind
  3. cap — a lid
  4. cap — of ice
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. net — in sport
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. cap — a hat
  9. tear — from crying
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. row — a line
  12. net — after costs
  13. board — to get on
  14. stock — goods
  15. race — the arms race
  16. fork — in a road
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — to paddle
  21. race — a contest
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  24. net — for catching

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