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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: spring · scale · stock · march · pass · wake · land · bore

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. pass — a permit
  3. land — to come down
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. stock — shares
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. land — ground
  9. wake — a trail
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — a coil
  12. march — the month
  13. march — music
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. march — the month
  17. spring — the season
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. bore — to drill
  21. scale — in music
  22. bore — to tire
  23. stock — goods
  24. land — a country

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