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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. row — to paddle
  3. lean — thin
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. band — a music group
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. mine — for digging
  9. file — a tool
  10. lean — to bend
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. stock — goods
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. file — a document
  18. stock — shares
  19. row — a line
  20. band — a ring
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. file — a line of people

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