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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. stock — shares
  6. game — wild animals
  7. chair — a leader
  8. craft — a skill
  9. game — a match
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. pass — a permit
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. band — a music group
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. band — a ring
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. stock — goods
  23. craft — boats
  24. stock — a soup base

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