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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 120 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: wave · kid · row · sharp · chair · fall · stock · squash

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. squash — the sport
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. stock — goods
  5. kid — child
  6. kid — to tease
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. fall — the season
  12. row — a line
  13. fall — to drop
  14. squash — to crush
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. sharp — clever
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. fall — to drop
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. stock — shares
  21. row — to paddle
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. chair — a leader

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