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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. court — of law
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. pound — a weight
  10. saw — the tool
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. stock — shares
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. court — of a king
  15. season — of the year
  16. stock — goods
  17. saw — the tool
  18. court — for sport
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. deal — to handle
  23. season — in sport
  24. band — a music group

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