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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 120 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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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: fine · wake · stick · stock · band · nail · ground · march

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. ground — crushed
  4. fine — all right
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — a trail
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. fine — high quality
  10. ground — the earth
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. ground — a position
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. march — music
  15. band — a music group
  16. stock — goods
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a ring

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