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

Word bank: rule · rest · stock · wind · squash · field

  1. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. squash — to crush
  3. rule — government
  4. field — for sport
  5. rest — a break
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. stock — goods
  8. wind — moving air
  9. rest — what's left
  10. rule — a law
  11. squash — the sport
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. stock — shares
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — farmland
  17. rest — what's left
  18. wind — moving air

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