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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: field · mine · march · wound · rule · ball · stock · fine

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. stock — shares
  4. march — the month
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. ball — a dance
  7. mine — for digging
  8. ball — a great time
  9. march — the month
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. stock — goods
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — for sport
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. rule — government
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. wound — an injury
  19. fine — all right
  20. field — farmland
  21. fine — high quality
  22. rule — a law
  23. march — music
  24. stock — a soup base

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