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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 120 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: saw · squash · cue · stock · wind · mine

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cue — for pool
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. squash — to crush
  5. wind — moving air
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. cue — a signal
  8. mine — for digging
  9. saw — the tool
  10. squash — the sport
  11. stock — goods
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. stock — shares
  14. wind — moving air
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. saw — the tool

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