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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: toast · stock · leaves · clip · net · land · suit · band

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. clip — for paper
  3. band — a music group
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. net — after costs
  7. suit — in cards
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. stock — goods
  11. land — a country
  12. toast — bread
  13. suit — to fit
  14. land — ground
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. net — for catching
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. net — in sport
  19. suit — clothes
  20. clip — a video
  21. clip — to cut
  22. land — to come down
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. stock — shares

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