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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: stock · squash · wax · foot · mine · roll · snap · prune

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. roll — a list
  6. foot — a measure
  7. snap — to click
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. stock — goods
  11. squash — the sport
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. prune — to trim
  14. stock — shares
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. roll — a cake
  17. prune — to trim
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. mine — for digging

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