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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: club · wind · leaves · stock · cell · band

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. 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. club — for dancing
  2. band — a music group
  3. club — a group
  4. club — for golf
  5. cell — in biology
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. band — a ring
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. wind — moving air
  11. cell — a phone
  12. stock — goods
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. wind — moving air
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. stock — shares
  18. 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