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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: tube · spring · stock · bowl · drill · race · stick · last

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. race — a contest
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. drill — army training
  5. last — to go on
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — the season
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. tube — a container
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. race — the arms race
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. spring — a coil
  15. stock — goods
  16. tube — the underground
  17. last — finally
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. race — humankind
  20. drill — the tool
  21. last — final
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. drill — a practice

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