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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: arm · file · march · bound · rash · jam · coach · stock

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. file — a tool
  3. rash — a series
  4. march — music
  5. bound — tied together
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. bound — certain
  9. file — a line of people
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. march — the month
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. stock — shares
  16. file — a document
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. stock — goods
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. bound — obliged
  23. march — the month
  24. stock — a soup base

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