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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. band — a ring
  4. pitch — completely
  5. ground — a position
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. hand — help
  8. stock — goods
  9. rush — hurry
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ground — the earth
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. hand — in cards
  24. mine — for digging

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