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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. stock — goods
  4. content — the amount
  5. band — a ring
  6. cap — a lid
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. band — a music group
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. scale — size or range
  12. pound — a weight
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. march — music
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a hat
  19. march — the month
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. scale — in music
  22. content — happy
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. stock — shares

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