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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. wake — a trail
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. band — a ring
  9. scale — in music
  10. staff — employees
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — a country
  13. band — a music group
  14. land — ground
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. staff — a stick
  17. track — to keep track
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. snap — to click
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. track — a path
  22. track — a song
  23. stock — shares
  24. staff — employees

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