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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 was locked up in a ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a music group
  4. stock — shares
  5. fine — all right
  6. branch — a division
  7. cell — a phone
  8. tear — from crying
  9. track — to keep track
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. cell — in biology
  13. tear — from crying
  14. track — a path
  15. track — a song
  16. race — humankind
  17. fine — high quality
  18. race — a contest
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. stock — goods
  21. race — the arms race
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. tear — to rip

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