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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 116 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 · ball · stock · lean · file · dip · mine · row

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. file — a line of people
  3. stock — shares
  4. file — a document
  5. file — a tool
  6. band — a music group
  7. stock — goods
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. row — a line
  10. band — a ring
  11. lean — thin
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. ball — a great time
  14. lean — to bend
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. mine — for digging
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. ball — a dance
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. dip — to sink
  21. row — to paddle
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. dip — a sauce

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