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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: deal · hand · cold · race · stock · hide · staff · last

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. staff — a stick
  3. cold — not warm
  4. race — humankind
  5. hand — in cards
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. staff — employees
  8. deal — to handle
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. stock — shares
  11. last — final
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. cold — an illness
  15. last — to go on
  16. stock — goods
  17. race — a contest
  18. staff — employees
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. race — the arms race
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. hand — help

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