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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. kid — to tease
  3. court — of a king
  4. scale — in music
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. scale — size or range
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. court — for sport
  9. bore — to tire
  10. bound — obliged
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. kid — child
  15. spell — a short time
  16. bound — certain
  17. stock — goods
  18. spell — magic
  19. bound — tied together
  20. court — of law
  21. bore — to drill
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. spell — letters
  24. band — a music group

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