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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 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. capital — a city
  4. fall — to drop
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. stock — goods
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. fall — to drop
  12. march — the month
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. fall — the season
  15. stock — shares
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pound — a weight
  23. capital — money
  24. stock — a soup base

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