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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. squash — the sport
  3. chest — of your body
  4. stock — goods
  5. stock — shares
  6. bound — obliged
  7. drill — the tool
  8. drill — a practice
  9. net — after costs
  10. chest — a box
  11. drill — army training
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. bulb — for light
  15. net — for catching
  16. object — an aim
  17. chest — of your body
  18. net — in sport
  19. object — to protest
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bound — certain
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. object — a thing

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