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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: date · bass · stock · tear · trunk · march · drill · bear

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — shares
  3. drill — the tool
  4. bass — the fish
  5. march — music
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bear — the animal
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. drill — army training
  14. date — the fruit
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. bear — the animal
  19. drill — a practice
  20. bass — low music
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. tear — to rip

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