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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wind — moving air
  4. scale — size or range
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. band — a ring
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a music group
  10. stock — shares
  11. wound — an injury
  12. board — to get on
  13. board — a committee
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. wind — moving air
  17. scale — in music
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. bass — the fish
  22. bass — low music
  23. stock — goods
  24. bass — the instrument

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