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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: field · fine · stock · chest · wound · rock · wake · march

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. fine — all right
  4. stock — shares
  5. field — farmland
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. march — the month
  8. chest — of your body
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. field — a subject
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. chest — a box
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. chest — of your body
  15. march — music
  16. wound — an injury
  17. march — the month
  18. wound — an injury
  19. rock — music
  20. wake — a trail
  21. fine — high quality
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. rock — a stone
  24. stock — goods

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