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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: band · tube · stock · clip · season · track · rest · rash

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. rash — hasty
  3. tube — the underground
  4. rash — a series
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — a break
  7. track — a song
  8. band — a music group
  9. clip — for paper
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stock — shares
  15. season — in sport
  16. track — to keep track
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. track — a path
  19. rest — what's left
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — a video
  22. tube — a container
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. season — of the year

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