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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: leaves · lash · content · jam · wound · stock · march · band

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. content — happy
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. stock — goods
  11. stock — shares
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. band — a music group
  15. march — music
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. band — a ring
  18. wound — an injury
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. content — the amount
  22. wound — an injury
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. leaves — to go away

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