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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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468
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 · swing · stock · mate · chest · craft · bear · tube

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — the animal
  4. stock — goods
  5. march — the month
  6. stock — shares
  7. craft — boats
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. march — the month
  10. march — music
  11. swing — to play on
  12. chest — a box
  13. swing — in golf
  14. chest — of your body
  15. tube — a container
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. mate — a partner
  18. swing — music
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. craft — a skill
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. tube — the underground
  23. chest — of your body
  24. mate — to breed

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