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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: wake · pound · cap · stock · bank · squash · tear · game

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. squash — to crush
  4. pound — a weight
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. tear — to rip
  7. game — wild animals
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — goods
  10. cap — of ice
  11. squash — the sport
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cap — a lid
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. stock — shares
  17. bank — for money
  18. game — a match
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. wake — a trail
  21. bank — of a river
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. bank — for money

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