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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: rock · spell · rule · chest · wake · last · march · stock

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  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. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. spell — magic
  4. rock — a stone
  5. stock — goods
  6. rule — government
  7. stock — shares
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. chest — of your body
  11. rock — music
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. chest — of your body
  14. march — the month
  15. rule — a law
  16. spell — a short time
  17. spell — letters
  18. last — final
  19. last — finally
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. chest — a box
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. last — to go on
  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