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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 · swing · foot · land · squash · fall · content · ground

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. squash — to crush
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. fall — to drop
  5. ground — a position
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. swing — to play on
  8. stock — shares
  9. fall — the season
  10. foot — a measure
  11. ground — crushed
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. squash — the sport
  14. land — to come down
  15. content — the amount
  16. land — ground
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. fall — to drop
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — happy
  21. land — a country
  22. stock — goods
  23. swing — in golf
  24. ground — the earth

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