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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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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: ruler · wind · calf · band · stock · rest · track · last

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. rest — a break
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. last — finally
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. band — a music group
  9. rest — what's left
  10. track — a path
  11. last — to go on
  12. track — to keep track
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. wind — moving air
  15. rest — what's left
  16. stock — shares
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. stock — goods
  21. track — a song
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. band — a ring

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