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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: squash · drill · stock · spring · bass · pound

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. squash — the sport
  4. drill — the tool
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — goods
  7. bass — low music
  8. squash — to crush
  9. spring — a coil
  10. drill — army training
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — the fish
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. drill — a practice
  15. pound — a weight
  16. spring — the season
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. spring — of water

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