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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 116 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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. fork — in a road
  3. staff — a stick
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. band — a ring
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. game — a match
  8. ball — a great time
  9. game — wild animals
  10. stock — goods
  11. band — a music group
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. ball — a dance
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. staff — employees
  19. cold — an illness
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. staff — employees
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. fork — to eat with

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