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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: bowl · row · squash · mouse · stock · fork · chest · craft

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. stock — goods
  4. squash — to crush
  5. stock — shares
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. craft — boats
  8. row — a line
  9. craft — a skill
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. row — to paddle
  14. chest — of your body
  15. fork — in a road
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. chest — a box
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. squash — the sport
  20. chest — of your body
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. mouse — the animal

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