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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: squash · fan · toast · branch · capital · straw · rash · stock

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. stock — goods
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. rash — hasty
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. branch — a division
  10. toast — bread
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. stock — shares
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. capital — a city
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. capital — money
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rash — a series
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. squash — to crush

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