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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: stock · deal · game · band · spell · pound · craft · kid

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. spell — letters
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. spell — magic
  7. stock — goods
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. kid — child
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. stock — shares
  12. craft — boats
  13. craft — a skill
  14. game — wild animals
  15. deal — to handle
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. game — a match
  18. spell — a short time
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — to tease
  21. band — a ring
  22. pound — a weight
  23. band — a music group
  24. deal — a big deal

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