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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. track — to keep track
  3. squash — to crush
  4. pop — soda
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. land — a country
  7. squash — the sport
  8. track — a song
  9. field — farmland
  10. pop — music
  11. pop — to visit
  12. band — a ring
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. chip — for betting
  15. field — for sport
  16. stock — goods
  17. chip — to eat
  18. band — a music group
  19. stock — shares
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. land — to come down
  22. track — a path
  23. land — ground
  24. field — a subject

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