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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: chip · prune · wound · squash · stock · shower · game · wax

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. shower — rain
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. wound — an injury
  5. stock — goods
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. game — wild animals
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. chip — to eat
  11. prune — to trim
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. squash — to crush
  14. game — a match
  15. chip — for betting
  16. squash — the sport
  17. shower — to wash
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. prune — to trim
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. stock — shares
  22. wax — to grow
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. prune — the fruit

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