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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: prune · coach · stock · date · band · deal · bass · march

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — goods
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. prune — to trim
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. date — the fruit
  9. march — the month
  10. deal — to handle
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. march — the month
  13. band — a ring
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bass — the fish
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. bass — low music
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. prune — to trim
  23. band — a music group
  24. march — music

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