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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 120 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: perch · drill · march · fall · stock · ground · season · current

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. perch — the fish
  3. ground — crushed
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. march — the month
  6. current — of water
  7. drill — the tool
  8. fall — the season
  9. current — electric
  10. fall — to drop
  11. march — music
  12. season — of the year
  13. fall — to drop
  14. drill — a practice
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. drill — army training
  19. march — the month
  20. ground — the earth
  21. stock — shares
  22. ground — a position
  23. season — in sport
  24. perch — for a bird

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