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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: mine · last · bore · stock · band · game · wound · bay

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. stock — goods
  4. game — wild animals
  5. band — a music group
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. bore — to drill
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. wound — an injury
  10. last — finally
  11. band — a ring
  12. last — to go on
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mine — for digging
  18. game — a match
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. stock — shares
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. last — final
  24. stock — a soup base

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