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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 120 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: band · land · net · rash · bulb · wave · stock · club

  1. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. land — ground
  3. rash — hasty
  4. bulb — for light
  5. club — for dancing
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. stock — shares
  8. land — to come down
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. band — a ring
  12. net — after costs
  13. rash — a series
  14. stock — goods
  15. net — in sport
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. band — a music group
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. land — a country
  20. club — a group
  21. bulb — for light
  22. club — for golf
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. net — for catching

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