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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. rush — hurry
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. stock — shares
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. spring — a coil
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. spring — of water
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. band — a ring
  15. stock — goods
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. spring — the season
  19. spell — a short time
  20. perch — the fish
  21. spell — letters
  22. spell — magic
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. rush — to hurry

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