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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: jam · stock · wound · hand · fall · present · march · pop

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. present — a gift
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. fall — to drop
  5. pop — to visit
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. present — there
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — help
  11. wound — an injury
  12. march — the month
  13. fall — to drop
  14. stock — goods
  15. march — music
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. fall — the season
  18. present — the time now
  19. pop — soda
  20. wound — an injury
  21. hand — in cards
  22. stock — shares
  23. jam — a tight spot
  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