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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: rash · cell · squash · ground · bat · mug · deal · stock

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. cell — a phone
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. rash — hasty
  6. deal — to handle
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. bat — the animal
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. rash — a series
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. stock — goods
  16. mug — a face
  17. mug — a cup
  18. squash — the sport
  19. ground — the earth
  20. squash — to crush
  21. stock — shares
  22. ground — crushed
  23. cell — in biology
  24. mug — to rob

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