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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. stock — shares
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. straw — to clutch at straws
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. stock — goods
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. rock — a stone
  11. field — farmland
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. rock — music
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. squash — the sport
  17. fine — high quality
  18. fine — all right
  19. band — a music group
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. field — a subject
  22. field — for sport
  23. squash — to crush
  24. rock — to move gently

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