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

Word bank: stock · pass · temple · march · wind · press

  1. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. wind — moving air
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. press — to push
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. march — music
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. march — the month
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. press — a publisher
  14. march — the month
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — goods
  17. press — newspapers
  18. wind — moving air

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