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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: field · stock · lash · band · file · bear · lean · bass

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. stock — shares
  3. field — for sport
  4. stock — goods
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. bear — the animal
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. file — a line of people
  10. field — a subject
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a ring
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. field — farmland
  15. lean — to bend
  16. band — a music group
  17. file — a tool
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. bear — the animal
  20. lean — thin
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. file — a document

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