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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: ground · band · stock · rash · ruler · mine · roll · wake

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. stock — shares
  5. ground — a position
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a music group
  8. rash — a series
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. ground — crushed
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. roll — a list
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. mine — for digging
  16. ground — the earth
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. rash — hasty
  21. roll — a cake
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. wake — a trail

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