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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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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: fork · arm · march · hand · stand · stock

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. 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. march — the month
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. march — the month
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. stand — to bear
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. stock — shares
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — help
  14. march — music
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. fork — in a road
  18. 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