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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · rash · bank · stock · march · mine · bore · sharp

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. march — the month
  3. cold — an illness
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. bore — to drill
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bank — for money
  10. bore — to tire
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — clever
  13. march — music
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. rash — a series
  17. bank — of a river
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. bank — for money
  21. stock — goods
  22. march — the month
  23. rash — hasty
  24. cold — the Cold War

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