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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: bulb · pop · wake · march · foot · last · stock · ground

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. ground — crushed
  3. last — finally
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. foot — a measure
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. pop — to visit
  8. march — music
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — for light
  12. march — the month
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. stock — goods
  16. ground — a position
  17. last — final
  18. march — the month
  19. wake — a trail
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — soda
  22. last — to go on
  23. ground — the earth
  24. wake — before a funeral

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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