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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: firm · arm · saw · cold · current · stock · march · trunk

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. firm — decided
  5. cold — not warm
  6. current — of water
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. cold — an illness
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. firm — steady
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. march — music
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. firm — a company
  17. stock — shares
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. current — happening now
  20. stock — goods
  21. saw — the tool
  22. march — the month
  23. current — electric
  24. saw — the tool

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