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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. cold — not warm
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. band — a music group
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. rush — hurry
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. track — to keep track
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — goods
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. track — a song
  19. saw — the tool
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. band — a ring
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. cold — an illness

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