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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 · fine · snap · mine · scale · rule · court · band

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a music group
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. fine — all right
  7. stock — shares
  8. court — for sport
  9. rule — a law
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. stock — goods
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. scale — in music
  15. snap — to click
  16. scale — size or range
  17. court — of law
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. rule — government
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. mine — for digging
  23. fine — high quality
  24. court — of a king

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