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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: land · lie · squash · key · hand · mine · stock · prune

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. lie — to recline
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — ground
  6. hand — help
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. squash — to crush
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. stock — shares
  11. key — for a lock
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. mine — for digging
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. key — the most important part
  16. key — in music
  17. squash — the sport
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. land — a country
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — to trim
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. hand — in cards

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