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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. bound — obliged
  3. club — for dancing
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. club — for golf
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. wound — an injury
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. fork — in a road
  10. stem — to come from
  11. march — the month
  12. bound — certain
  13. stock — goods
  14. stock — shares
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. wound — an injury
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. march — the month
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. club — a group
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. bound — tied together
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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