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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 116 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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. net — in sport
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. net — after costs
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. march — the month
  9. net — for catching
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. stock — shares
  15. pop — music
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. kick — in football
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. march — the month
  21. pop — soda
  22. pop — to visit
  23. stock — goods
  24. wind — moving air

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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