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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: file · snap · firm · march · stock · row · rest · trunk

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. file — a line of people
  5. march — the month
  6. file — a tool
  7. stock — goods
  8. firm — steady
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a line
  12. rest — what's left
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stock — shares
  18. firm — a company
  19. snap — to click
  20. rest — what's left
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. rest — a break
  23. firm — decided
  24. file — a document

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