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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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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: hide · stock · tear · march · present · fall

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. fall — the season
  4. march — the month
  5. march — the month
  6. stock — shares
  7. tear — to rip
  8. stock — goods
  9. present — the time now
  10. tear — from crying
  11. present — a gift
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — to drop
  15. present — there
  16. march — music
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. tear — from crying

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