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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: stock · pop · leaves · date · last · dip · trunk · march

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. stock — goods
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. march — the month
  6. pop — music
  7. date — the fruit
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. stock — shares
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. dip — to sink
  16. last — final
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. pop — to visit
  19. last — finally
  20. march — music
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. march — the month
  24. last — to go on

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