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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 · arm · band · clip · stock · date · rash · pitcher

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. clip — a video
  3. clip — for paper
  4. band — a music group
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — goods
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. stock — shares
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. rash — a series
  14. date — the fruit
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. squash — the sport
  18. band — a ring
  19. squash — to crush
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. clip — to cut

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