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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 124 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. spell — letters
  5. race — a contest
  6. court — of a king
  7. court — for sport
  8. spell — magic
  9. band — a ring
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. fork — in a road
  13. mug — a face
  14. mug — a cup
  15. mug — to rob
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. race — the arms race
  18. spell — a short time
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. court — of law
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. stock — goods
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. race — humankind

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