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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. ground — crushed
  3. sharp — clever
  4. rule — a law
  5. ground — a position
  6. shower — to wash
  7. band — a ring
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. ground — the earth
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. rule — government
  15. row — to paddle
  16. stock — shares
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. shower — rain
  20. band — a music group
  21. stock — goods
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. row — a line

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