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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. wound — an injury
  4. land — a country
  5. wound — an injury
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. march — the month
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. key — the most important part
  12. deal — to handle
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. band — a ring
  16. stock — shares
  17. key — for a lock
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. land — to come down
  20. band — a music group
  21. march — music
  22. land — ground
  23. key — in music
  24. stock — goods

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