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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. hand — help
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. bass — the fish
  7. stock — goods
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. root — of a word
  10. stock — shares
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. root — of a plant
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. fine — all right
  16. band — a music group
  17. hand — in cards
  18. root — the cause
  19. rule — government
  20. band — a ring
  21. fork — in a road
  22. bass — low music
  23. rule — a law
  24. band — a rubber band

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