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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: staff · clip · march · stock · bear · deal · bore · bound

  1. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — to put up with
  2. march — the month
  3. clip — a video
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. stock — goods
  6. march — music
  7. bound — tied together
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. clip — for paper
  11. deal — to handle
  12. stock — shares
  13. march — the month
  14. staff — employees
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bound — certain
  17. clip — to cut
  18. bore — to drill
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — the animal
  22. staff — a stick
  23. bore — to tire
  24. staff — employees

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