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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: spring · rest · wave · wake · bear · march · hand · stock

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — the season
  3. hand — help
  4. march — the month
  5. march — music
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. stock — goods
  10. spring — of water
  11. hand — in cards
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — a trail
  14. rest — a break
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — the animal
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — what's left
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. march — the month
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. stock — shares

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