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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. scale — in music
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. band — a ring
  5. stock — shares
  6. scale — size or range
  7. march — the month
  8. club — for golf
  9. wound — an injury
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. club — for dancing
  12. march — music
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. band — a music group
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. wound — an injury
  17. club — a group
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. march — the month
  20. fine — all right
  21. fine — high quality
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. stock — goods
  24. row — to paddle

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