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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. clip — for paper
  5. row — to paddle
  6. net — after costs
  7. spring — a coil
  8. row — a line
  9. track — to keep track
  10. spring — the season
  11. net — for catching
  12. cue — a signal
  13. cue — for pool
  14. stock — shares
  15. clip — to cut
  16. band — a music group
  17. stock — goods
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. track — a song
  20. track — a path
  21. band — a ring
  22. cue — a hint
  23. clip — a video
  24. spring — of water

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