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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: march · pit · straw · tear · stock · fan

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. march — the month
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. stock — shares
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. march — music
  10. pit — in a race
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. march — the month
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. stock — goods
  18. straw — dry grass

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