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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. stock — goods
  6. squash — to crush
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. wind — moving air
  9. charge — electricity
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. wind — moving air
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. saw — the tool
  21. saw — the tool
  22. charge — in control
  23. stock — shares
  24. charge — a price

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