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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: temple · pop · saw · bowl · roll · march · cell · stock

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. march — the month
  3. stock — goods
  4. march — the month
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. pop — soda
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. cell — in biology
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. pop — music
  15. roll — a cake
  16. march — music
  17. saw — the tool
  18. pop — to visit
  19. saw — the tool
  20. stock — shares
  21. cell — a phone
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. roll — a list

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