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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a city
  5. stock — shares
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. bank — for money
  13. squash — the sport
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. bank — for money
  16. bank — of a river
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — to rip
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. stock — goods
  24. tear — from crying

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