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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. march — the month
  4. mug — a cup
  5. roll — a cake
  6. mug — to rob
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. mug — a face
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stock — goods
  12. march — the month
  13. kid — to tease
  14. branch — a division
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — child
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. roll — a list
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. march — music
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. branch — of a bank

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