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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. craft — a skill
  3. band — a music group
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. stock — goods
  6. root — of a word
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. stock — shares
  9. craft — boats
  10. band — a ring
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. spell — letters
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. root — the cause
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — magic
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. root — of a plant
  23. kick — in football
  24. kick — a thrill

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