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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 · lean · bowl · cap · squash · wound · clip · hand

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. 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. squash — to crush
  2. clip — for paper
  3. clip — a video
  4. stock — shares
  5. hand — in cards
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. cap — a hat
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. lean — to bend
  10. lean — thin
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. clip — to cut
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. cap — a lid
  18. hand — help
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. cap — of ice
  21. stock — goods
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. 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