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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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. squash — the sport
  3. track — a song
  4. hand — in cards
  5. bound — certain
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. stock — goods
  9. spring — of water
  10. squash — to crush
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. spring — the season
  14. pit — a hole
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. bound — tied together
  17. track — a path
  18. spring — a coil
  19. bound — obliged
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — the tool
  22. pit — in a race
  23. track — to keep track
  24. hand — help

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