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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: foot · spring · stock · land · club · rash · march · content

  1. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — part of the body
  2. spring — a coil
  3. club — for dancing
  4. rash — hasty
  5. spring — the season
  6. march — the month
  7. spring — of water
  8. land — to come down
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. foot — a measure
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. club — for golf
  13. club — a group
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. land — a country
  16. land — ground
  17. march — music
  18. content — the amount
  19. rash — a series
  20. content — happy
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — shares
  23. march — the month
  24. content — videos and posts

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