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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's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. key — for a lock
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pass — a permit
  10. band — a ring
  11. cold — not warm
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. stock — shares
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. band — a music group
  17. stock — goods
  18. key — the most important part
  19. content — the amount
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. content — happy
  23. key — in music
  24. pass — to succeed

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