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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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. shower — to wash
  3. band — a ring
  4. roll — a cake
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. roll — a list
  7. shower — rain
  8. race — the arms race
  9. charge — in control
  10. stock — shares
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. bound — obliged
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. stock — goods
  15. bound — certain
  16. cue — for pool
  17. band — a music group
  18. race — humankind
  19. charge — electricity
  20. cue — a signal
  21. bound — tied together
  22. race — a contest
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. charge — a price

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