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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: march · lie · mug · stock · cold · bass · rush · ground

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mug — a cup
  5. bass — low music
  6. march — the month
  7. ground — a position
  8. stock — shares
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. lie — to recline
  12. march — music
  13. mug — a face
  14. rush — hurry
  15. ground — crushed
  16. ground — the earth
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. mug — to rob
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. cold — an illness
  21. march — the month
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bass — the fish
  24. stock — goods

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