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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: march · stock · spell · club · land · game · band · jam

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. march — the month
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. spell — a short time
  5. band — a music group
  6. game — a match
  7. land — a country
  8. march — music
  9. march — the month
  10. stock — goods
  11. land — ground
  12. game — wild animals
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. land — to come down
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. jam — to spread on bread
  18. stock — shares
  19. club — for dancing
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. spell — letters
  22. band — a ring
  23. club — for golf
  24. club — a group

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