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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. bass — the fish
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. band — a ring
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. degree — temperature
  8. drill — army training
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. degree — an amount
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. drill — a practice
  13. bass — low music
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bound — certain
  16. degree — from a university
  17. vault — a safe
  18. bound — tied together
  19. stock — goods
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. stock — shares
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. drill — the tool

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