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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 116 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. fine — all right
  4. rest — what's left
  5. stock — shares
  6. stock — goods
  7. band — a ring
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. cold — not warm
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. last — to go on
  12. drill — a practice
  13. last — finally
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. drill — army training
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. rest — what's left
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. rest — a break
  20. last — final
  21. band — a music group
  22. cold — an illness
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. drill — the tool

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