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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: chest · stock · cue · sharp · wake · bear · march · pitcher

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. I'll take my ________________ from you.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. stock — shares
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bear — the animal
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. cue — for pool
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. march — music
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. chest — a box
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cue — a signal
  19. march — the month
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. stock — goods
  22. bear — the animal
  23. chest — of your body
  24. cue — a hint

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