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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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Word bank
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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 · pop · last · straw · lean · date · band · board

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. board — a committee
  3. lean — thin
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. last — to go on
  7. stock — shares
  8. board — to get on
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. lean — to bend
  11. date — the fruit
  12. pop — soda
  13. last — final
  14. band — a ring
  15. band — a music group
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. pop — music
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. pop — to visit
  23. last — finally
  24. stock — goods

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