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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: arm · squash · stock · saw · cold · chest · jam · perch

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. chest — of your body
  6. chest — a box
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. saw — the tool
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. cold — an illness
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. squash — the sport
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. perch — the fish
  21. saw — the tool
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. squash — to crush
  24. stock — shares

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