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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: ground · stock · mark · cell · temple · pitcher · content · squash

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. stock — shares
  5. ground — the earth
  6. ground — a position
  7. ground — crushed
  8. mark — a grade
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cell — a phone
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. content — happy
  15. stock — goods
  16. content — the amount
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. squash — the sport
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. mark — a trace
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. cell — in biology

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