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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. chip — for betting
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. stock — goods
  7. branch — a division
  8. chip — to eat
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. dip — to sink
  12. spring — a coil
  13. deal — to handle
  14. stock — shares
  15. spring — the season
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a ring
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. spring — of water
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. dip — to dunk

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