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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. stock — goods
  3. march — music
  4. cap — a lid
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. march — the month
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. branch — a division
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. cap — of ice
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. march — the month
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a music group
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. cap — a hat
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. mine — for digging
  23. stock — shares
  24. safe — out of danger

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