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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 124 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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. stock — goods
  3. clip — for paper
  4. band — a music group
  5. track — a song
  6. clip — to cut
  7. field — a subject
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. face — to point toward
  10. field — for sport
  11. face — part of the head
  12. scale — in music
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. field — farmland
  15. stock — shares
  16. track — a path
  17. clip — a video
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. pop — soda
  20. pop — music
  21. track — to keep track
  22. band — a ring
  23. face — to confront
  24. pop — to visit

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