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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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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: march · stock · bound · rash · pitcher · rule · last · drill

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. march — music
  3. rule — government
  4. drill — the tool
  5. drill — army training
  6. rash — hasty
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. last — to go on
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. last — finally
  12. stock — shares
  13. rash — a series
  14. march — the month
  15. stock — goods
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. drill — a practice
  18. bound — certain
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. last — final
  21. rule — a law
  22. bound — tied together
  23. bound — obliged
  24. march — the month

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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