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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: march · suit · mark · cold · club · stock · rash · pop

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — goods
  3. cold — an illness
  4. mark — a grade
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pop — music
  8. club — for golf
  9. march — the month
  10. club — a group
  11. rash — hasty
  12. march — music
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. club — for dancing
  15. march — the month
  16. pop — to visit
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. pop — soda
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. suit — clothes
  21. mark — a trace
  22. rash — a series
  23. suit — to fit
  24. suit — in cards

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