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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: rule · game · spring · squash · craft · bat · saw · stock

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bat — the animal
  3. squash — to crush
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. rule — government
  6. spring — of water
  7. squash — the sport
  8. spring — a coil
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. stock — shares
  11. craft — a skill
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. saw — the tool
  14. stock — goods
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. saw — the tool
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. game — a match
  20. rule — a law
  21. craft — boats
  22. game — wild animals
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. spring — the season

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