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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: key · face · stock · press · march · patient · mark · tube

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. face — to confront
  3. march — music
  4. stock — shares
  5. tube — the underground
  6. key — in music
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. key — for a lock
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. face — to point toward
  13. mark — a grade
  14. press — to push
  15. press — newspapers
  16. press — a publisher
  17. mark — a trace
  18. march — the month
  19. tube — a container
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. key — the most important part
  23. stock — goods
  24. face — part of the head

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