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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 · band · object · bowl · last · race · straw · branch

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  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. bowl — a dish
  2. stock — shares
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. last — final
  5. race — the arms race
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. last — to go on
  8. stock — goods
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. object — to protest
  11. object — an aim
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. race — humankind
  14. branch — a division
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. band — a music group
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. band — a ring
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. object — a thing
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. race — a contest
  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