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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. squash — to crush
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. cell — a phone
  7. stock — goods
  8. cell — in biology
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. tube — the underground
  13. tube — a container
  14. wake — a trail
  15. pound — a weight
  16. squash — the sport
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. saw — the tool
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. saw — the tool

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