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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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  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. squash — the vegetable
  2. net — after costs
  3. mug — a face
  4. saw — the tool
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. net — for catching
  7. mug — a cup
  8. saw — the tool
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. squash — the sport
  11. prune — to trim
  12. net — in sport
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — the animal
  16. stock — shares
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. mug — to rob
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. prune — to trim
  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