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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: plane · cold · temple · suit · chest · squash · rock · stock

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. When was this ________________ built?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. squash — to crush
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. cold — an illness
  5. suit — in cards
  6. rock — music
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. cold — not warm
  11. suit — clothes
  12. chest — a box
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. squash — the sport
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rock — a stone
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. stock — shares
  20. plane — a tool
  21. stock — goods
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. suit — to fit
  24. plane — in geometry

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