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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.

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: band · stock · land · lean · bass · row · bay · kid

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — to come down
  3. row — a line
  4. bass — the fish
  5. band — a ring
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. lean — thin
  8. lean — to bend
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. kid — child
  11. stock — shares
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. band — a music group
  14. bass — low music
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — to tease
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. land — a country
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. stock — goods

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