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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 116 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 drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. tube — the underground
  3. stock — shares
  4. march — the month
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. march — the month
  7. cap — a lid
  8. cap — of ice
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. rest — what's left
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. tube — a container
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. band — a music group
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. rest — what's left
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. bark — to shout
  20. rest — a break
  21. cap — a hat
  22. stock — goods
  23. band — a ring
  24. march — music

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