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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. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. bank — for money
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — to crush
  6. bank — of a river
  7. kick — in football
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. pound — a weight
  11. hand — in cards
  12. wound — an injury
  13. hand — help
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. court — of law
  17. court — for sport
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bank — for money
  22. court — of a king
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. stock — shares

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