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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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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 · chest · ground · stick · race · key · nail · tear

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. chest — of your body
  3. ground — crushed
  4. race — the arms race
  5. stock — goods
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — a contest
  8. key — for a lock
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. key — in music
  11. ground — the earth
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. ground — a position
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. tear — from crying
  18. chest — of your body
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stock — shares
  22. tear — to rip
  23. chest — a box
  24. key — the most important part

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