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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. band — a ring
  4. pass — a permit
  5. swing — in golf
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. chair — a leader
  9. swing — to play on
  10. stock — goods
  11. swing — music
  12. race — humankind
  13. pass — to succeed
  14. race — the arms race
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. stock — shares
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. race — a contest
  24. chair — a professorship

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