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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. firm — a company
  3. firm — steady
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a ring
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. firm — decided
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. stock — goods
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. straw — a straw man

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