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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: tear · march · field · rule · rash · stock

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — for sport
  4. march — the month
  5. rash — a series
  6. tear — from crying
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. field — farmland
  9. rule — a law
  10. tear — from crying
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. stock — goods
  13. tear — to rip
  14. march — the month
  15. stock — shares
  16. rash — hasty
  17. march — music
  18. rash — on the skin

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