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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — goods
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. cell — in biology
  10. row — a line
  11. object — a thing
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. cell — a phone
  15. deal — to handle
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. squash — to crush
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. row — to paddle
  21. squash — the sport
  22. object — an aim
  23. object — to protest
  24. row — a quarrel

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