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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  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. stock — goods
  2. drill — the tool
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. march — the month
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. stock — shares
  9. drill — a practice
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. lean — thin
  13. lean — to bend
  14. march — the month
  15. wind — moving air
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. drill — army training
  18. last — to go on
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. wind — moving air
  21. march — music
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. last — final
  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