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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: dip · squash · wax · band · stock · land · last · swing

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. swing — to play on
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. squash — the sport
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. land — to come down
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. swing — music
  13. last — to go on
  14. swing — in golf
  15. band — a ring
  16. stock — goods
  17. squash — to crush
  18. land — ground
  19. wax — to grow
  20. band — a music group
  21. dip — to sink
  22. last — finally
  23. last — final
  24. land — a country

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