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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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. pit — a hole
  3. stock — goods
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a music group
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. file — a line of people
  9. pit — in a race
  10. pop — to visit
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. scale — in music
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wake — a trail
  15. file — a document
  16. stock — shares
  17. chair — a leader
  18. band — a ring
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. pop — soda
  21. scale — size or range
  22. pop — music
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. file — a tool

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