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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. content — happy
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. bank — for money
  5. pop — music
  6. content — the amount
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. pop — to visit
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. stock — goods
  12. pop — soda
  13. bank — of a river
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. stock — shares
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. perch — the fish
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. band — a music group
  22. bank — for money
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. nail — on a finger

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