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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. band — a ring
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. stock — shares
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. clip — to cut
  8. rash — a series
  9. band — a music group
  10. stock — goods
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. clip — a video
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. lean — to bend
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. clip — for paper
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. lean — thin
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. pound — a weight

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