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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  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. band — a music group
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. kid — child
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. game — wild animals
  8. kid — to tease
  9. lean — to bend
  10. key — for a lock
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. lean — thin
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. game — a match
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. key — the most important part
  20. stock — shares
  21. band — a ring
  22. key — in music
  23. foot — a measure
  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