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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: fall · spring · wound · squash · clip · jam · stock · lash

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. wound — an injury
  5. stock — goods
  6. fall — to drop
  7. clip — for paper
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. squash — the sport
  10. jam — to spread on bread
  11. stock — shares
  12. fall — to drop
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. spring — the season
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. fall — the season
  18. spring — a coil
  19. wound — an injury
  20. clip — to cut
  21. spring — of water
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. clip — a video
  24. squash — the vegetable

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