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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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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: tear · leaves · race · squash · stock · swing · cabinet · band

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. band — a ring
  3. swing — to play on
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — in golf
  6. squash — the sport
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. tear — from crying
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. band — a music group
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. race — humankind
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. tear — to rip
  17. race — a contest
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. stock — goods
  22. race — the arms race
  23. squash — to crush
  24. tear — from crying

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