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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. band — a music group
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. hand — help
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. pound — a weight
  7. stock — shares
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. game — a match
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. stock — goods
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. fine — all right
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. lie — to recline
  21. hand — in cards
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. fine — high quality
  24. fine — a penalty

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