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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: foot · march · kick · jam · degree · wound · land · stock

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  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. jam — in traffic
  2. land — ground
  3. march — music
  4. wound — an injury
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. degree — an amount
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. degree — temperature
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. land — a country
  12. march — the month
  13. land — to come down
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. march — the month
  16. kick — in football
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. wound — an injury
  19. foot — a measure
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. degree — from a university
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. stock — shares
  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