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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 120 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: squash · rush · prune · stock · march · coach · game · stick

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — wild animals
  3. squash — to crush
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. prune — to trim
  6. march — music
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. stock — shares
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. squash — the sport
  16. prune — to trim
  17. rush — hurry
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. march — the month
  20. stock — goods
  21. march — the month
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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