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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. present — the time now
  3. stock — shares
  4. march — the month
  5. present — a gift
  6. row — a line
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. march — the month
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stock — goods
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bass — low music
  18. shower — to wash
  19. row — to paddle
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. wind — moving air
  22. present — there
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. shower — rain

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