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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: stock · court · land · degree · drill · craft · race · firm

  1. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a handicraft
  2. degree — from a university
  3. drill — army training
  4. drill — a practice
  5. land — ground
  6. firm — decided
  7. court — for sport
  8. race — humankind
  9. craft — a skill
  10. court — of law
  11. firm — a company
  12. drill — the tool
  13. stock — goods
  14. court — of a king
  15. craft — boats
  16. degree — temperature
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. land — a country
  19. race — the arms race
  20. degree — an amount
  21. land — to come down
  22. stock — shares
  23. firm — steady
  24. race — a contest

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