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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: pop · march · band · ruler · bear · degree · stock · mine

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. pop — soda
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. stock — shares
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a music group
  10. bear — the animal
  11. degree — an amount
  12. degree — temperature
  13. stock — goods
  14. pop — music
  15. march — the month
  16. mine — for digging
  17. degree — from a university
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. march — music
  21. pop — to visit
  22. march — the month
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. bear — the animal

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