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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 116 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: march · lash · bank · fall · stock · scale · fan · clip

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. scale — size or range
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. bank — of a river
  7. clip — to cut
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. march — the month
  10. fall — the season
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. clip — for paper
  13. scale — in music
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. bank — for money
  16. stock — goods
  17. march — the month
  18. bank — for money
  19. stock — shares
  20. fall — to drop
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. fall — to drop
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. clip — a video

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