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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: bear · charge · race · file · stock · degree · mate · deal

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. file — a tool
  3. stock — goods
  4. degree — from a university
  5. mate — to breed
  6. file — a document
  7. file — a line of people
  8. bear — the animal
  9. degree — temperature
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. bear — the animal
  12. charge — electricity
  13. race — a contest
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. charge — a price
  16. mate — a friend
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. race — the arms race
  20. mate — a partner
  21. degree — an amount
  22. race — humankind
  23. charge — in control
  24. stock — shares

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