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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: field · rush · racket · stock · bass · race · tube · shower

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. shower — to wash
  3. race — a contest
  4. bass — low music
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. field — for sport
  7. tube — a container
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. stock — goods
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. field — farmland
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. tube — the underground
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. race — humankind
  17. stock — shares
  18. race — the arms race
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. shower — rain
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. field — a subject
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bass — the fish

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