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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stock · hand · content · band · stem · rest

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. rest — what's left
  3. hand — help
  4. stock — shares
  5. band — a music group
  6. rest — what's left
  7. stock — goods
  8. content — happy
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. stem — to come from
  11. hand — in cards
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. band — a ring
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. content — the amount
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. rest — a break

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