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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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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: mark · stock · drill · date · pitch · bulb · game · race

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. game — a match
  3. mark — a grade
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. bulb — for light
  6. race — the arms race
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. game — wild animals
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. race — a contest
  12. drill — a practice
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. drill — army training
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. bulb — for light
  18. stock — goods
  19. drill — the tool
  20. pitch — completely
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. date — the fruit
  23. race — humankind
  24. mark — a trace

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