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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. scale — size or range
  3. stock — shares
  4. stock — goods
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. band — a ring
  8. wound — an injury
  9. track — a song
  10. scale — in music
  11. track — to keep track
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. date — the fruit
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bass — low music
  18. bass — the fish
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. band — a music group
  24. band — a rubber band

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