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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: band · stock · kid · hand · prune · jam · sharp · wave

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. prune — to trim
  3. hand — in cards
  4. stock — goods
  5. sharp — clever
  6. hand — help
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. jam — in traffic
  9. stock — shares
  10. band — a music group
  11. kid — to tease
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. kid — child
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. band — a ring
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. prune — to trim
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. hand — part of the body

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