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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — for digging
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. band — a music group
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. bound — certain
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bound — tied together
  12. chest — of your body
  13. shower — to wash
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. stock — shares
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. bound — obliged
  19. chest — of your body
  20. band — a ring
  21. stock — goods
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. chest — a box

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