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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. game — wild animals
  3. tube — the underground
  4. clip — for paper
  5. tube — a container
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. land — to come down
  8. game — a match
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. stock — goods
  15. land — a country
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. clip — a video
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. rush — hurry
  23. land — ground
  24. clip — to cut

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