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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Where did you ________________ them?
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. mug — a face
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. squash — the sport
  9. bound — tied together
  10. stock — shares
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. file — a line of people
  13. wound — an injury
  14. stock — goods
  15. mug — to rob
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bound — certain
  19. file — a document
  20. bound — obliged
  21. squash — to crush
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. file — a tool
  24. mug — a cup

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