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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. firm — a company
  4. stock — shares
  5. firm — decided
  6. race — a contest
  7. field — for sport
  8. race — the arms race
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stock — goods
  11. field — a subject
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. lie — to recline
  14. band — a ring
  15. track — a path
  16. track — to keep track
  17. firm — steady
  18. row — a line
  19. row — to paddle
  20. track — a song
  21. band — a music group
  22. race — humankind
  23. field — farmland
  24. lie — an untruth

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