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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 116 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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  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 — to crush
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. stock — shares
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. mate — a partner
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. court — of law
  10. field — a subject
  11. court — for sport
  12. mate — a friend
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. squash — the sport
  16. mate — to breed
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a music group
  19. court — of a king
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — farmland
  22. stand — to bear
  23. squash — the vegetable
  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