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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. field — a subject
  4. field — for sport
  5. rush — hurry
  6. game — wild animals
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. stock — shares
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — a trail
  13. field — farmland
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. band — a ring
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. sharp — clever
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. game — a match
  23. band — a music group
  24. stock — goods

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