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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bat · band · stock · rest · kid · mouse · rash · mine

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. kid — to tease
  5. stock — shares
  6. rash — a series
  7. bat — the animal
  8. mine — for digging
  9. rash — hasty
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. rest — what's left
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. band — a ring
  14. kid — child
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. rest — a break
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. band — a music group
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. rest — what's left

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