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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: face · march · cap · squash · band · stock · kid · toast

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. cap — of ice
  5. squash — the sport
  6. kid — child
  7. face — to point toward
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. band — a music group
  10. cap — a hat
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — shares
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. kid — to tease
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. squash — to crush
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. face — to confront
  19. toast — bread
  20. march — the month
  21. band — a ring
  22. face — part of the head
  23. cap — a lid
  24. squash — the vegetable

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