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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: fall · march · season · charge · net · clip · wind · stock

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  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. clip — for paper
  2. net — after costs
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. march — the month
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stock — goods
  8. season — of the year
  9. fall — to drop
  10. charge — electricity
  11. charge — a price
  12. fall — the season
  13. march — music
  14. season — in sport
  15. clip — to cut
  16. march — the month
  17. charge — in control
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — for catching
  20. wind — moving air
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. clip — a video
  23. stock — shares
  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