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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: last · toast · stock · net · game · chest · pound · squash

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. game — wild animals
  3. stock — goods
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. last — final
  6. stock — shares
  7. last — finally
  8. squash — to crush
  9. toast — the most admired
  10. game — a match
  11. chest — of your body
  12. net — in sport
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. toast — bread
  15. squash — the sport
  16. last — to go on
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. chest — a box
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. net — for catching
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. chest — of your body

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