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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: club · calf · stock · saw · ball · face · roll · squash

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. face — to confront
  3. roll — a cake
  4. squash — the sport
  5. ball — a dance
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. stock — goods
  9. face — to point toward
  10. club — for golf
  11. saw — the tool
  12. ball — a great time
  13. club — a group
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. face — part of the head
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stock — shares
  18. saw — the tool
  19. roll — a list
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. club — for dancing
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. squash — the vegetable

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