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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 water is too ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. stock — shares
  3. court — for sport
  4. march — the month
  5. cold — an illness
  6. court — of a king
  7. march — music
  8. file — a document
  9. firm — a company
  10. pass — a permit
  11. firm — decided
  12. file — a tool
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. file — a line of people
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — a tin
  18. firm — steady
  19. march — the month
  20. court — of law
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. can — to be able to
  23. stock — goods
  24. pass — to succeed

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