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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. file — a tool
  3. march — the month
  4. file — a line of people
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. stock — shares
  7. cell — a phone
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. land — ground
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. stand — to bear
  12. bear — the animal
  13. perch — the fish
  14. march — the month
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. file — a document
  18. stock — goods
  19. bear — the animal
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. cell — in biology
  22. land — to come down
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. land — a country

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