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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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — shares
  3. can — a tin
  4. band — a music group
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. wind — moving air
  12. can — a tin
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. can — to be able to
  15. court — of law
  16. cold — not warm
  17. band — a ring
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. wind — moving air
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. mate — a partner
  22. court — for sport
  23. court — of a king
  24. mate — a friend

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