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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 · wind · fine · rule · foot · stock · ground · season

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. march — the month
  4. season — in sport
  5. march — the month
  6. ground — the earth
  7. wind — moving air
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. ground — crushed
  10. wind — moving air
  11. stock — goods
  12. foot — a measure
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. rule — government
  15. fine — all right
  16. march — music
  17. stock — shares
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. season — of the year
  21. ground — a position
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. rule — a law
  24. fine — high quality

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