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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. bound — certain
  3. cold — not warm
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. cold — an illness
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. march — music
  8. stock — shares
  9. march — the month
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. bound — tied together
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bound — obliged
  15. wound — an injury
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. march — the month
  19. stock — goods
  20. branch — a division
  21. stand — to bear
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. wound — an injury
  24. stand — for spectators

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