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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. stock — goods
  4. cue — for pool
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. stock — shares
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. saw — the tool
  12. rule — a law
  13. cue — a signal
  14. saw — the tool
  15. rule — government
  16. file — a line of people
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. band — a music group
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a tool
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. cue — a hint

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