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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. stock — shares
  3. band — a ring
  4. swing — music
  5. can — a tin
  6. clip — a video
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. tube — the underground
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. clip — for paper
  11. tube — a container
  12. scale — in music
  13. bulb — for light
  14. clip — to cut
  15. swing — in golf
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. can — a tin
  18. swing — to play on
  19. stock — goods
  20. can — to be able to
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. bulb — for light
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. band — a music group

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