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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: bear · face · row · fall · stock · march · bass · court

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. face — to confront
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. bass — low music
  6. court — of a king
  7. face — part of the head
  8. bear — the animal
  9. face — to point toward
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. court — for sport
  12. march — the month
  13. bass — the fish
  14. stock — shares
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. stock — goods
  17. court — of law
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. row — to paddle
  20. march — the month
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bear — the animal
  23. fall — to drop
  24. row — a line

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