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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. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. stock — goods
  3. rest — a break
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bear — the animal
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. bear — the animal
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. band — a music group
  11. rest — what's left
  12. cold — not warm
  13. stock — shares
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. scale — in music
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. band — a ring
  18. mark — a grade
  19. rest — what's left
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. cold — an illness
  22. scale — size or range
  23. bound — tied together
  24. mark — a trace

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