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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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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. net — in sport
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. net — for catching
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. land — ground
  8. squash — the sport
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. stock — shares
  12. land — to come down
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. land — a country
  17. cell — a phone
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. net — after costs
  21. cell — in biology
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. stock — goods
  24. squash — to crush

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