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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 120 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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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: stock · snap · wind · field · ruler · rest · stem · march

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. rest — a break
  3. stock — goods
  4. field — a subject
  5. stock — shares
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. wind — moving air
  8. field — farmland
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. stem — to come from
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. wind — moving air
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. field — for sport
  18. rest — what's left
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. march — the month
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. march — music
  24. rest — what's left

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