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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. march — the month
  4. hand — help
  5. staff — employees
  6. last — to go on
  7. march — the month
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. clip — to cut
  10. staff — employees
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. stock — goods
  13. hand — in cards
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. march — music
  17. clip — for paper
  18. last — finally
  19. firm — steady
  20. firm — a company
  21. firm — decided
  22. clip — a video
  23. staff — a stick
  24. last — final

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