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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. stock — shares
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. fork — in a road
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. key — in music
  7. cold — not warm
  8. band — a music group
  9. cue — a hint
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. cue — a signal
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. key — for a lock
  15. key — the most important part
  16. band — a ring
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. stock — goods
  19. cold — an illness
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. cue — for pool
  24. fork — to eat with

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