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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: shower · race · drill · pitch · saw · stand · rash · stock

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. race — humankind
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. stand — to bear
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. shower — rain
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. drill — army training
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. race — a contest
  14. saw — the tool
  15. rash — a series
  16. shower — to wash
  17. race — the arms race
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. pitch — completely
  20. saw — the tool
  21. drill — a practice
  22. rash — hasty
  23. stock — goods
  24. drill — the tool

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