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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: cue · sharp · drill · march · wave · cabinet · stock · chest

  1. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. chest — of your body
  4. march — the month
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. sharp — clever
  7. cue — a signal
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. stock — goods
  12. drill — army training
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. cue — a hint
  15. chest — a box
  16. stock — shares
  17. cue — for pool
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. drill — a practice
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. drill — the tool

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