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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. pound — a weight
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. land — ground
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. stock — shares
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. saw — the tool
  12. band — a music group
  13. can — a tin
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — not warm
  17. stock — goods
  18. can — a tin
  19. can — to be able to
  20. land — to come down
  21. saw — the tool
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. land — a country
  24. lash — an eyelash

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