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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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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: march · wind · bay · clip · present · stem · stock · arm

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. present — a gift
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. stock — shares
  5. present — there
  6. wind — moving air
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. stock — goods
  9. clip — to cut
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — for paper
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. present — the time now
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. wind — moving air
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. stem — to come from
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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