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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: mate · row · lean · net · tube · stock · march · tear

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. mate — a friend
  3. tube — a container
  4. stock — goods
  5. net — in sport
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. march — the month
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a line
  11. march — the month
  12. mate — a partner
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. lean — thin
  15. lean — to bend
  16. tear — to rip
  17. stock — shares
  18. mate — to breed
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. march — music
  21. tube — the underground
  22. net — after costs
  23. tear — from crying
  24. net — for catching

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