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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. stock — goods
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. cold — an illness
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — the sport
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. squash — to crush
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. rash — hasty
  15. lean — to bend
  16. cold — not warm
  17. stock — shares
  18. row — a line
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. row — to paddle
  22. rash — a series
  23. lean — thin
  24. lean — to rest against

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