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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: drill · clip · ball · foot · bowl · scale · stock · race

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  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. race — humankind
  2. race — a contest
  3. ball — a great time
  4. scale — size or range
  5. stock — shares
  6. clip — a video
  7. drill — the tool
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. scale — in music
  10. ball — a dance
  11. race — the arms race
  12. clip — for paper
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. foot — a measure
  19. clip — to cut
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. stock — goods
  22. drill — army training
  23. foot — the bottom
  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