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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 · pound · tube · rule · bat · wake · stock · mug

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. mug — a cup
  5. tube — the underground
  6. mug — a face
  7. pound — a weight
  8. march — the month
  9. mug — to rob
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. tube — a container
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. stock — goods
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. bat — the animal
  16. wake — a trail
  17. rule — a law
  18. march — music
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. march — the month
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. rule — government

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