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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: stock · content · chair · band · fine · stem · game · club

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. content — the amount
  3. fine — all right
  4. stock — goods
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. chair — a leader
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. content — happy
  11. stem — to come from
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. band — a music group
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. game — wild animals
  17. stock — shares
  18. club — for dancing
  19. club — a group
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. game — a match
  22. club — for golf
  23. fine — high quality
  24. fine — a penalty

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