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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 · cell · stock · last · pitcher · board · coach · face

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  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. last — final
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. last — to go on
  6. face — to confront
  7. cell — a phone
  8. march — the month
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. board — to get on
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. cell — in biology
  13. face — part of the head
  14. march — music
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. march — the month
  17. last — finally
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. face — to point toward
  22. stock — shares
  23. board — a committee
  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