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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 120 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. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. squash — to crush
  3. stock — shares
  4. rash — hasty
  5. track — a path
  6. band — a music group
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — goods
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. squash — the sport
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. band — a ring
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. clip — for paper
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. track — to keep track
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. bass — the fish
  20. track — a song
  21. bass — low music
  22. rash — a series
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — to cut

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