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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 · bear · bat · trunk · roll · bay · lean · stock

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. stock — shares
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bat — the animal
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. lean — thin
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. roll — a list
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. march — the month
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. roll — a cake
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. march — the month
  21. lean — to bend
  22. stock — goods
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. march — music

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