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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: ground · stock · bound · pit · pass · squash · wind · spring

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. squash — the sport
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. spring — of water
  5. wind — moving air
  6. stock — goods
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. wind — moving air
  10. spring — the season
  11. pass — a permit
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. ground — a position
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — crushed
  19. pit — in a race
  20. bound — obliged
  21. squash — to crush
  22. bound — certain
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bound — tied together

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