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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  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. present — there
  2. band — a ring
  3. spring — a coil
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. spring — the season
  7. present — a gift
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cap — a hat
  11. track — a path
  12. stock — shares
  13. band — a music group
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. track — to keep track
  16. present — the time now
  17. track — a song
  18. game — a match
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. game — wild animals
  21. spring — of water
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. cap — of ice
  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