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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: tear · game · fall · plane · stock · net · current · march

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  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. net — in sport
  2. tear — from crying
  3. march — the month
  4. current — electric
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — wild animals
  7. fall — the season
  8. tear — to rip
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. fall — to drop
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. march — music
  13. current — happening now
  14. march — the month
  15. game — a match
  16. stock — shares
  17. plane — a tool
  18. tear — from crying
  19. net — after costs
  20. fall — to drop
  21. net — for catching
  22. current — of water
  23. plane — an aircraft
  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