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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: spell · stock · squash · tear · craft · bulb · mate · pitcher

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. squash — to crush
  3. stock — goods
  4. mate — to breed
  5. spell — a short time
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. spell — letters
  8. mate — a partner
  9. squash — the sport
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. tear — to rip
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. bulb — for light
  14. spell — magic
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. craft — a skill
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. stock — shares
  22. craft — boats
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. bulb — for light

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