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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 120 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: band · bass · prune · hand · ruler · mine · stock · bat

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. stock — goods
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. band — a music group
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. hand — help
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. band — a ring
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. prune — to trim
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. prune — to trim
  17. stock — shares
  18. bass — the fish
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. bat — the animal
  21. bass — low music
  22. mine — for digging
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. hand — part of the body

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