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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: bass · squash · last · stock · file · stick · rush · straw

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. rush — hurry
  3. squash — the sport
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a line of people
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. stock — goods
  11. last — final
  12. bass — the fish
  13. squash — to crush
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — shares
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. last — to go on
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. file — a document
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. last — finally

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