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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 · rule · fork · pop · saw · stock · net · march

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. pop — music
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — in a road
  5. pop — soda
  6. march — music
  7. rule — government
  8. march — the month
  9. rule — a law
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a ring
  13. net — in sport
  14. stock — goods
  15. band — a music group
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. pop — to visit
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. stock — shares
  20. march — the month
  21. net — for catching
  22. saw — the tool
  23. net — after costs
  24. rule — to rule out

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