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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. march — music
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. rash — hasty
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. fall — to drop
  9. band — a music group
  10. fall — to drop
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. band — a ring
  13. march — the month
  14. pit — a hole
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. rash — a series
  19. march — the month
  20. fall — the season
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. bark — to shout
  23. pit — in a race
  24. stock — goods

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