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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: hand · rock · chest · squash · bowl · spell · wound · stock

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. squash — the sport
  3. wound — an injury
  4. spell — a short time
  5. chest — of your body
  6. rock — a stone
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. chest — a box
  9. spell — letters
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. chest — of your body
  12. spell — magic
  13. squash — to crush
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. rock — music
  17. hand — help
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. hand — in cards
  20. wound — an injury
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. stock — goods
  24. stock — shares

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