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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: wave · bank · wound · march · spring · court · stock · snap

  1. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. wound — an injury
  3. spring — of water
  4. stock — shares
  5. march — the month
  6. spring — the season
  7. bank — for money
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. wound — an injury
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. bank — for money
  13. bank — of a river
  14. stock — goods
  15. court — for sport
  16. march — the month
  17. court — of law
  18. spring — a coil
  19. snap — to click
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. court — of a king
  22. march — music
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. wave — of the sea

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