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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 120 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 ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. band — a music group
  3. clip — for paper
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. ground — the earth
  6. fine — high quality
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. ground — a position
  9. fine — all right
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. snap — to click
  13. stock — goods
  14. track — to keep track
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. track — a song
  17. stock — shares
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. clip — a video
  20. ground — crushed
  21. clip — to cut
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. track — a path
  24. band — a ring

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