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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 116 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: pass · bat · stock · fan · nail · cold · bark · squash

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bark — to shout
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. stock — shares
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. squash — the sport
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. stock — goods
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. bat — the animal
  23. squash — to crush
  24. pass — a permit

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