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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.

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: stock · rest · squash · straw · jam · field · mouse · drill

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. rest — a break
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. rest — what's left
  6. field — for sport
  7. stock — goods
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. stock — shares
  13. drill — army training
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. drill — the tool
  16. drill — a practice
  17. field — farmland
  18. rest — what's left
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. field — a subject
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. squash — the sport
  23. squash — to crush
  24. straw — a straw man

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