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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 president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. net — for catching
  3. land — a country
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. mug — a cup
  7. net — in sport
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. squash — the sport
  10. net — after costs
  11. stock — shares
  12. stock — goods
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. mug — a face
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. land — ground
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. land — to come down
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. bat — the animal
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. mug — to rob
  24. nail — for a hammer

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