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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. fall — to drop
  6. rash — hasty
  7. stock — shares
  8. fall — to drop
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. band — a music group
  11. kid — child
  12. object — to protest
  13. kid — to tease
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. band — a ring
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. object — a thing
  18. object — an aim
  19. squash — the sport
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. fall — the season
  22. squash — to crush
  23. rash — a series
  24. rash — on the skin

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