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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: ruler · mug · clip · spell · march · leaves · stock · kid

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. march — the month
  3. kid — child
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. march — music
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. stock — goods
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. mug — a cup
  13. spell — magic
  14. clip — for paper
  15. mug — a face
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — to cut
  18. spell — a short time
  19. kid — to tease
  20. spell — letters
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. march — the month
  23. stock — shares
  24. mug — to rob

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