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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pop — soda
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. bass — the fish
  10. can — a tin
  11. wound — an injury
  12. cold — an illness
  13. march — the month
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. can — to be able to
  16. pop — music
  17. march — the month
  18. stock — goods
  19. march — music
  20. stand — to bear
  21. can — a tin
  22. bass — low music
  23. pop — to visit
  24. cold — not warm

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