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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mug · squash · tear · stock · ball · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — not warm
  5. tear — from crying
  6. stock — shares
  7. squash — to crush
  8. ball — a dance
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. tear — to rip
  12. ball — a great time
  13. mug — to rob
  14. mug — a cup
  15. tear — from crying
  16. squash — the sport
  17. stock — goods
  18. mug — a face

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