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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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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 · wound · land · mug · pop · squash · club · kid

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. land — a country
  3. club — for dancing
  4. mug — a cup
  5. mug — a face
  6. club — a group
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. pop — soda
  9. kid — child
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. wound — an injury
  12. kid — to tease
  13. club — for golf
  14. stock — shares
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. land — to come down
  18. squash — to crush
  19. pop — music
  20. pop — to visit
  21. land — ground
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — the sport
  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