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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. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bear — the animal
  3. field — for sport
  4. rock — a stone
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. stock — shares
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rock — music
  9. field — farmland
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. bass — low music
  13. craft — a skill
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. clip — a video
  16. clip — for paper
  17. bear — the animal
  18. stock — goods
  19. bass — the fish
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. band — a music group
  23. craft — boats
  24. field — a subject

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