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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. current — of water
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. fork — in a road
  9. current — electric
  10. fall — to drop
  11. stock — goods
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. fine — all right
  14. mine — for digging
  15. current — happening now
  16. stock — shares
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fine — high quality
  21. band — a music group
  22. fall — the season
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. fork — a garden tool

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