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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. stock — goods
  5. march — music
  6. wound — an injury
  7. last — to go on
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. pass — a permit
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. face — part of the head
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. rock — a stone
  16. wound — an injury
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. face — to point toward
  20. snap — to click
  21. last — final
  22. face — to confront
  23. stock — shares
  24. last — finally

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