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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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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: kid · fork · mouse · rest · stock · ground · racket · band

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — a break
  4. kid — to tease
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. rest — what's left
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. band — a ring
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. stock — shares
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. ground — a position
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. stock — goods
  17. fork — in a road
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. ground — crushed
  20. band — a music group
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. kid — child
  24. ground — the earth

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