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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: club · ruler · kid · band · cell · mug · stock · wake

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. club — for golf
  3. cell — a phone
  4. wake — a trail
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. stock — shares
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. band — a ring
  10. mug — a face
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. stock — goods
  13. mug — a cup
  14. club — a group
  15. band — a music group
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. cell — in biology
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. mug — to rob
  23. kid — child
  24. club — for dancing

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