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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. drill — the tool
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. scale — size or range
  5. present — a gift
  6. present — there
  7. band — a ring
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. stock — goods
  10. stock — shares
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. drill — army training
  13. scale — in music
  14. rest — a break
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. present — the time now
  17. drill — a practice
  18. rest — what's left
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. rest — what's left
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. trunk — of a tree

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