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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mug · squash · tear · stock · ball · cold · cap · file

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. squash — the sport
  3. tear — from crying
  4. cold — an illness
  5. file — a tool
  6. tear — from crying
  7. stock — shares
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. file — a line of people
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cap — of ice
  12. file — a document
  13. tear — to rip
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cap — a lid
  16. mug — a face
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. ball — a dance
  19. mug — to rob
  20. mug — a cup
  21. stock — goods
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. cold — not warm
  24. squash — to crush

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