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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. race — a contest
  4. face — to point toward
  5. race — the arms race
  6. band — a ring
  7. race — humankind
  8. stock — goods
  9. face — part of the head
  10. wind — moving air
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. bass — the fish
  13. wind — moving air
  14. stock — shares
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. face — to confront
  17. bass — low music
  18. band — a music group

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