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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 · hand · drill · pit · cabinet · face · fine · stock

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. hand — help
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. face — to confront
  5. face — part of the head
  6. pit — a hole
  7. stock — goods
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. drill — a practice
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — the tool
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. march — the month
  16. face — to point toward
  17. hand — in cards
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. fine — all right
  21. pit — in a race
  22. march — music
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. fine — high quality

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