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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 120 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: drill · bay · stock · march · bass · hide · clip · spell

  1. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — to keep at bay
  2. stock — goods
  3. drill — a practice
  4. clip — a video
  5. spell — letters
  6. spell — a short time
  7. spell — magic
  8. clip — for paper
  9. bass — low music
  10. stock — shares
  11. bass — the fish
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. drill — army training
  14. clip — to cut
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. drill — the tool
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. march — the month

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