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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. land — ground
  3. last — to go on
  4. band — a music group
  5. last — finally
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. board — a committee
  9. mine — for digging
  10. stock — shares
  11. band — a ring
  12. board — to get on
  13. land — a country
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. land — to come down
  16. pop — music
  17. stock — goods
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. pop — to visit
  22. last — final
  23. tube — a container
  24. tube — the underground

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