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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a ring
  4. stock — shares
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. chest — of your body
  7. swing — in golf
  8. bank — for money
  9. bank — of a river
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. stock — goods
  13. wound — an injury
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. chest — of your body
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. bank — for money
  18. swing — to play on
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. wound — an injury
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. swing — music
  24. chest — a box

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