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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. charge — in control
  3. stock — goods
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bank — for money
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a music group
  9. bank — for money
  10. band — a ring
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. stock — shares
  13. chair — a leader
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. charge — electricity
  16. cell — in biology
  17. cell — a phone
  18. hand — in cards
  19. charge — a price
  20. hand — help
  21. game — wild animals
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. game — a match
  24. game — a kind of play

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