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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. wound — an injury
  4. band — a music group
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. wound — an injury
  7. race — a contest
  8. object — an aim
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. race — humankind
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. ball — a great time
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. wind — moving air
  15. object — to protest
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. object — a thing
  18. stock — shares
  19. pound — a weight
  20. race — the arms race
  21. wind — moving air
  22. band — a ring
  23. stock — goods
  24. band — a rubber band

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