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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. branch — a division
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. track — a path
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. track — to keep track
  8. mine — for digging
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. track — a song
  12. pitch — completely
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. wound — an injury
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. stock — shares
  20. squash — to crush
  21. squash — the sport
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. pitch — a sports field

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