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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  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. rush — to hurry
  2. band — a music group
  3. firm — decided
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. band — a ring
  6. stock — shares
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. spring — of water
  9. squash — the sport
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. firm — a company
  14. firm — steady
  15. spring — a coil
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. rush — hurry
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. spring — the season
  21. kick — in football
  22. trunk — of a tree
  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