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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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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: pitcher · game · stock · ground · snap · swing · bowl · squash

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. squash — to crush
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. swing — in golf
  6. game — wild animals
  7. swing — to play on
  8. swing — music
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. squash — the sport
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. snap — to click
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. ground — a position
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. ground — crushed
  18. stock — shares
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. stock — goods
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. ground — the earth
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. game — a match

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