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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: lean · bat · wake · kid · race · stock · key · temple

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. When was this ________________ built?
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. race — humankind
  3. kid — to tease
  4. stock — goods
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. lean — to bend
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. lean — thin
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. wake — a trail
  11. key — in music
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. key — the most important part
  15. key — for a lock
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. stock — shares
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. race — the arms race
  21. bat — the animal
  22. race — a contest
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. kid — child

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