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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · bass · squash · capital · patient · rest · cold · lash

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. squash — the sport
  4. bass — the fish
  5. stock — goods
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. capital — money
  8. rest — a break
  9. bass — low music
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. cold — not warm
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cold — an illness
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. squash — to crush
  17. stock — shares
  18. capital — a city
  19. rest — what's left
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. bass — the instrument

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