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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 · stock · temple · rash · rest · land · row · prune

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — goods
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. march — music
  7. land — a country
  8. rest — what's left
  9. land — ground
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. march — the month
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. row — a line
  14. march — the month
  15. rest — a break
  16. row — to paddle
  17. prune — to trim
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rash — a series
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. stock — shares
  22. land — to come down
  23. rash — hasty
  24. row — a quarrel

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