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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: saw · date · bat · shower · race · wake · stock · ground

  1. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. stock — shares
  3. shower — to wash
  4. stock — goods
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. bat — the animal
  10. shower — rain
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — crushed
  14. race — the arms race
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. date — the fruit
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. ground — the earth
  20. race — a contest
  21. race — humankind
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. saw — the tool
  24. wake — a trail

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