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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. race — a contest
  5. key — for a lock
  6. charge — a price
  7. spell — letters
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. key — the most important part
  11. key — in music
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. charge — in control
  16. race — humankind
  17. charge — electricity
  18. stock — goods
  19. spell — a short time
  20. race — the arms race
  21. foot — a measure
  22. perch — the fish
  23. spell — magic
  24. perch — for a bird

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