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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: band · cold · nail · calf · pass · clip · squash · stock

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. squash — the sport
  3. clip — to cut
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. clip — for paper
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. stock — goods
  12. pass — a permit
  13. band — a music group
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. stock — shares
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. band — a ring
  22. squash — to crush
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. clip — a video

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