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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 · wound · wake · snap · march · cell · spell · nail

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. spell — letters
  5. wake — a trail
  6. march — the month
  7. snap — to click
  8. wound — an injury
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. march — music
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. stock — shares
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. spell — a short time
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. spell — magic
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. wound — an injury
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. march — the month
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. cell — in biology
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. cell — a phone

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