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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. stock — goods
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. squash — the sport
  6. wind — moving air
  7. ball — a dance
  8. band — a ring
  9. stock — shares
  10. ball — a great time
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. squash — to crush
  13. court — for sport
  14. band — a music group
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. court — of a king
  21. wind — moving air
  22. court — of law
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. stock — a soup base

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