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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: stock · spring · march · pit · stand · club · net · land

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. land — ground
  3. net — after costs
  4. pit — a hole
  5. stock — goods
  6. spring — of water
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. march — the month
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. land — a country
  11. march — music
  12. stock — shares
  13. net — in sport
  14. net — for catching
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. spring — a coil
  17. club — a group
  18. club — for golf
  19. club — for dancing
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. march — the month
  22. land — to come down
  23. pit — in a race
  24. stand — to bear

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