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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 · mark · march · face · rash · current · drill · bowl

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. face — to confront
  3. face — part of the head
  4. stock — goods
  5. rash — a series
  6. march — music
  7. mark — a grade
  8. march — the month
  9. current — happening now
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. current — of water
  12. march — the month
  13. face — to point toward
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. drill — a practice
  16. current — electric
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. stock — shares
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. rash — hasty
  21. drill — army training
  22. drill — the tool
  23. mark — a trace
  24. bowl — a football final

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