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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: bore · foot · stock · cold · march · hide · craft · rush

  1. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. march — the month
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. foot — a measure
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bore — to drill
  8. march — music
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. rush — hurry
  12. stock — shares
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. craft — boats
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. craft — a skill
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stock — goods
  23. bore — to tire
  24. march — the month

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