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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 116 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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. squash — to crush
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. stock — shares
  10. press — newspapers
  11. squash — the sport
  12. stock — goods
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. press — to push
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. band — a ring
  17. bark — to shout
  18. press — a publisher

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