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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: kid · dip · land · season · bound · stock · fine · band

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bound — obliged
  3. season — in sport
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. kid — to tease
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. bound — certain
  8. bound — tied together
  9. band — a music group
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. season — of the year
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. band — a ring
  15. fine — high quality
  16. fine — all right
  17. stock — shares
  18. dip — to sink
  19. land — to come down
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. stock — goods
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. land — a country
  24. land — ground

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