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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 · prune · calf · stock · wake · deal · cold · rest

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. rest — what's left
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. deal — to handle
  8. prune — to trim
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. cold — an illness
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — to crush
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. stock — shares
  18. rest — a break
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. cold — not warm
  23. stock — goods
  24. wake — a trail

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