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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: spring · rash · date · stock · bat · ground · squash · nail

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. spring — the season
  3. stock — shares
  4. stock — goods
  5. rash — hasty
  6. ground — the earth
  7. rash — a series
  8. ground — crushed
  9. spring — of water
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. ground — a position
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. squash — the sport
  18. squash — to crush
  19. date — the fruit
  20. bat — the animal
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. spring — a coil

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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