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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. land — to come down
  3. file — a tool
  4. spring — of water
  5. foot — the bottom
  6. stock — shares
  7. land — ground
  8. row — to paddle
  9. row — a line
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. band — a ring
  12. file — a document
  13. bore — to tire
  14. spring — a coil
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. foot — a measure
  18. stock — goods
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. spring — the season
  21. bore — to drill
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. land — a country
  24. file — a line of people

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