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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. stock — shares
  4. bank — of a river
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. band — a ring
  8. band — a music group
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. pass — a permit
  11. stock — goods
  12. clip — to cut
  13. ball — a dance
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. cell — in biology
  16. ball — a great time
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. bank — for money
  19. cell — a phone
  20. bank — for money
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. clip — a video
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. clip — for paper

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