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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. stock — shares
  3. band — a ring
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. pop — to visit
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. band — a music group
  9. march — music
  10. ball — a great time
  11. march — the month
  12. march — the month
  13. wind — moving air
  14. pop — soda
  15. rash — hasty
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. ball — a dance
  18. wind — moving air
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. stock — goods
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. pop — music
  24. band — a rubber band

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