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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — goods
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. drill — a practice
  6. branch — a division
  7. tube — the underground
  8. ground — the earth
  9. drill — army training
  10. spell — a short time
  11. band — a music group
  12. ground — crushed
  13. band — a ring
  14. drill — the tool
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. spell — letters
  19. squash — to crush
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. spell — magic
  22. squash — the sport
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. tube — a container

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