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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. stock — goods
  4. track — a path
  5. clip — to cut
  6. field — for sport
  7. track — to keep track
  8. track — a song
  9. stock — shares
  10. band — a music group
  11. band — a ring
  12. toast — bread
  13. field — farmland
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. field — a subject
  16. clip — for paper
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. clip — a video
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. stock — a soup base

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