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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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. rash — hasty
  4. tube — a container
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a music group
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. stock — goods
  10. rash — a series
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — clever
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. band — a ring
  17. stock — shares
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. object — a thing
  20. object — to protest
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. object — an aim

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