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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. stock — shares
  6. season — in sport
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. season — of the year
  10. press — a publisher
  11. press — newspapers
  12. game — a match
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. press — to push
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. mine — for digging
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. stock — goods

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