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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: roll · hand · wind · march · plane · tear · stock · last

  1. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. march — the month
  3. tear — to rip
  4. tear — from crying
  5. roll — a list
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. march — music
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. last — finally
  11. hand — help
  12. wind — moving air
  13. plane — a tool
  14. wind — moving air
  15. tear — from crying
  16. last — to go on
  17. march — the month
  18. last — final
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. hand — in cards
  21. stock — goods
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. stock — shares
  24. roll — a cake

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