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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. pop — music
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. pop — soda
  6. stock — shares
  7. lie — to recline
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. band — a music group
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. kick — in football
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. wind — moving air
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. pop — to visit
  23. stock — goods
  24. pound — a weight

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