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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: toast · fine · hand · squash · stock · court · row · nail

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — high quality
  3. stock — goods
  4. hand — help
  5. stock — shares
  6. hand — in cards
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. squash — the sport
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. row — a line
  14. squash — to crush
  15. court — of a king
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. court — of law
  18. court — for sport
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. row — to paddle
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. toast — bread
  24. nail — for a hammer

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