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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: stock · march · fork · fan · content · ground · racket · bass

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. stock — goods
  3. bass — the fish
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. stock — shares
  6. ground — the earth
  7. march — music
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. march — the month
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. march — the month
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. ground — crushed
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. content — happy
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. fork — in a road
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. ground — a position
  24. content — the amount

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