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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 116 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: wind · stock · board · rest · squash · spring

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. wind — moving air
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — what's left
  5. board — to get on
  6. rest — a break
  7. stock — goods
  8. board — a committee
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. squash — to crush
  12. wind — moving air
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. spring — the season
  15. stock — shares
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. spring — a coil
  18. squash — the sport

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