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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 · stock · wind · pitcher · rash · file · saw · pop

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. pop — music
  3. wind — moving air
  4. rash — hasty
  5. saw — the tool
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. pop — to visit
  8. file — a document
  9. band — a music group
  10. stock — shares
  11. rash — a series
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. file — a line of people
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. pop — soda
  22. file — a tool
  23. saw — the tool
  24. band — a ring

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