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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: lie · race · game · wind · content · scale · stock · wound

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. scale — size or range
  3. stock — shares
  4. race — a contest
  5. game — wild animals
  6. stock — goods
  7. wind — moving air
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. content — the amount
  12. race — humankind
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. game — a match
  15. scale — in music
  16. content — happy
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. lie — to recline
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wind — moving air
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. race — the arms race
  24. wound — an injury

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