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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 120 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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. wind — moving air
  3. march — the month
  4. chair — a leader
  5. stock — shares
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. mark — a trace
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. prune — to trim
  11. saw — the tool
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. wind — moving air
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. mark — a grade
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. prune — to trim
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. saw — the tool
  23. stock — goods
  24. march — the month

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