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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 120 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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. stock — shares
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. pop — to visit
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. band — a music group
  7. game — wild animals
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. capital — money
  11. stock — goods
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — a city
  14. bass — low music
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. game — a match
  17. foot — a measure
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. pop — music
  20. band — a ring
  21. bass — the fish
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. game — a kind of play

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