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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. mug — a face
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. cold — an illness
  5. stock — shares
  6. march — the month
  7. mug — to rob
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. fine — high quality
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. march — music
  14. mug — a cup
  15. cold — not warm
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. snap — to click
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. fine — all right
  22. march — the month
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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