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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 · field · clip · bay · wake · march · suit · board

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. When will it ________________ you to start?
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. board — a committee
  3. field — a subject
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. wake — a trail
  7. suit — in cards
  8. march — the month
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. march — music
  11. field — farmland
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. stock — goods
  15. board — to get on
  16. suit — to fit
  17. suit — clothes
  18. clip — to cut
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. march — the month
  22. field — for sport
  23. clip — a video
  24. clip — for paper

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