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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 120 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: spell · race · bark · press · stock · tube · chest · craft

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. craft — boats
  3. craft — a skill
  4. spell — magic
  5. race — humankind
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. tube — the underground
  8. spell — a short time
  9. race — a contest
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. chest — of your body
  12. press — a publisher
  13. stock — goods
  14. press — newspapers
  15. tube — a container
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. press — to push
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. chest — of your body
  20. race — the arms race
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. chest — a box
  23. spell — letters
  24. bark — to shout

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