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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. stock — goods
  3. march — the month
  4. stock — shares
  5. branch — of a bank
  6. tear — to rip
  7. branch — a division
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. squash — the sport
  10. last — final
  11. last — to go on
  12. march — the month
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. squash — to crush
  15. tear — from crying
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. tear — from crying
  18. march — music

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