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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: march · ball · wound · stock · bear · mouse · mine · drill

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. stock — goods
  3. drill — army training
  4. march — the month
  5. wound — an injury
  6. ball — a great time
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. march — the month
  10. stock — shares
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. drill — a practice
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. ball — a dance
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. bear — the animal
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. wound — an injury
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. drill — the tool

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