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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cell · season · stock · net · lash · cold · squash · game

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. squash — to crush
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. squash — the sport
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. stock — shares
  9. cell — a phone
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — a match
  12. season — in sport
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — not warm
  15. net — for catching
  16. net — after costs
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. net — in sport
  19. cell — in biology
  20. season — of the year
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. stock — goods
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. lash — an eyelash

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