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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. last — final
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bank — of a river
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. present — there
  11. stock — shares
  12. last — to go on
  13. kick — in football
  14. bank — for money
  15. cold — an illness
  16. cold — not warm
  17. present — the time now
  18. bank — for money
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. last — finally
  24. present — a gift

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