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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: present · bowl · stock · fork · season · march · chest · wind

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. present — a gift
  3. chest — of your body
  4. march — the month
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. wind — moving air
  10. chest — a box
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. march — the month
  13. stock — goods
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. season — of the year
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. wind — moving air
  20. march — music
  21. fork — in a road
  22. stock — shares
  23. present — the time now
  24. season — in sport

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