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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. stock — goods
  5. band — a ring
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bass — low music
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. cold — an illness
  11. tear — to rip
  12. pop — to visit
  13. tear — from crying
  14. lean — to bend
  15. pop — music
  16. cold — not warm
  17. pop — soda
  18. stock — shares
  19. band — a music group
  20. bass — the fish
  21. tear — from crying
  22. firm — decided
  23. lean — thin
  24. firm — a company

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