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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 120 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: stock · rush · cold · court · calf · rock · march · fall

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. stock — goods
  4. rush — hurry
  5. march — music
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. court — of a king
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. rock — music
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. fall — the season
  12. court — of law
  13. court — for sport
  14. rock — a stone
  15. fall — to drop
  16. fall — to drop
  17. stock — shares
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. cold — an illness
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. cold — not warm
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. march — the month

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