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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 116 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: ground · racket · stock · march · saw · fall · squash · last

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. last — to go on
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. march — the month
  7. ground — a position
  8. fall — to drop
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. fall — the season
  12. ground — crushed
  13. fall — to drop
  14. saw — the tool
  15. ground — the earth
  16. saw — the tool
  17. march — the month
  18. last — final
  19. squash — to crush
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. stock — goods
  22. march — music
  23. last — finally
  24. stock — shares

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