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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: wound · rush · bass · stock · mine · bore · march · toast

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. march — the month
  3. toast — bread
  4. march — the month
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. stock — goods
  9. wound — an injury
  10. stock — shares
  11. wound — an injury
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — for digging
  14. march — music
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. bore — to tire
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bass — low music
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bass — the fish
  24. stock — a soup base

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