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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: squash · current · coach · face · hand · stock · march · sharp

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. hand — in cards
  3. current — happening now
  4. sharp — clever
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. stock — goods
  8. current — of water
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. squash — the sport
  11. stock — shares
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — to point toward
  18. squash — to crush
  19. hand — help
  20. current — electric
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. march — the month
  23. face — part of the head
  24. march — music

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