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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: roll · stock · bound · band · bat · mate · stick · saw

  1. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. mate — a friend
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bound — certain
  6. stock — shares
  7. roll — a list
  8. saw — the tool
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bound — obliged
  12. saw — the tool
  13. mate — a partner
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. stock — goods
  20. band — a ring
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. mate — to breed
  24. bat — for baseball

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