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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: stock · race · chest · bowl · stick · last · march · band

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. stock — shares
  3. march — music
  4. last — to go on
  5. race — humankind
  6. chest — of your body
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. band — a music group
  10. last — final
  11. stock — goods
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. chest — a box
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. march — the month
  18. band — a ring
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. race — the arms race
  21. chest — of your body
  22. march — the month
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. last — finally

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