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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 120 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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  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. row — a line
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. spring — the season
  4. stock — shares
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. march — the month
  7. hand — help
  8. stand — to bear
  9. hand — in cards
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. pop — to visit
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. spring — a coil
  15. stock — goods
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. spring — of water
  18. row — to paddle
  19. march — music
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. pop — music
  22. march — the month
  23. pop — soda
  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