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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. stock — shares
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. rush — hurry
  6. drill — army training
  7. drill — a practice
  8. bat — the animal
  9. stock — goods
  10. march — the month
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. march — the month
  14. drill — the tool
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. rush — a thrill

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