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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. bound — tied together
  3. chest — of your body
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. court — for sport
  7. scale — size or range
  8. bound — certain
  9. charge — electricity
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. bound — obliged
  12. band — a music group
  13. charge — a price
  14. court — of a king
  15. chest — of your body
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. chest — a box
  19. scale — in music
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. band — a ring
  22. court — of law
  23. charge — in control
  24. coach — a trainer

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