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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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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 · ground · lean · track · pop · key · tear · stock

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. ground — a position
  3. track — to keep track
  4. ground — the earth
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. ground — crushed
  7. pop — music
  8. key — the most important part
  9. track — a path
  10. tear — from crying
  11. lean — to bend
  12. race — the arms race
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. tear — from crying
  15. lean — thin
  16. race — humankind
  17. track — a song
  18. key — for a lock
  19. race — a contest
  20. stock — shares
  21. stock — goods
  22. pop — soda
  23. tear — to rip
  24. key — in 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