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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. band — a music group
  6. stock — goods
  7. hand — in cards
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. content — happy
  11. hand — help
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. stem — to come from
  14. stock — shares
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. content — the amount
  20. squash — to crush
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. band — a ring
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. squash — the sport

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