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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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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: squash · last · snap · stock · bay · race · wake · field

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. race — a contest
  3. stock — goods
  4. last — finally
  5. wake — a trail
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. stock — shares
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. field — farmland
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. snap — to click
  15. squash — the sport
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. field — for sport
  18. race — humankind
  19. last — to go on
  20. race — the arms race
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. last — final
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. field — a subject

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