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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. band — a music group
  4. last — finally
  5. degree — from a university
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — help
  8. spring — the season
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. degree — an amount
  11. spring — of water
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. stand — to bear
  14. hand — in cards
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. last — final
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. last — to go on
  22. degree — temperature
  23. spring — a coil
  24. stock — goods

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