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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: straw · nail · rock · march · content · clip · wind · stock

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. wind — moving air
  7. clip — to cut
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. content — the amount
  10. rock — a stone
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. content — happy
  13. rock — music
  14. march — the month
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. march — the month
  17. wind — moving air
  18. stock — goods
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. clip — for paper
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. clip — a video
  24. stock — shares

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