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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 116 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: bat · march · nail · stock · saw · bay · board · cold

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. march — the month
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. cold — not warm
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. bat — the animal
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. march — music
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. march — the month
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. stock — goods
  20. cold — an illness
  21. board — to get on
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. board — a committee
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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