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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: squash · degree · stock · object · swing · fall · bowl · rest

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. squash — to crush
  4. object — an aim
  5. object — a thing
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. degree — an amount
  8. rest — a break
  9. fall — to drop
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. degree — temperature
  12. swing — to play on
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. degree — from a university
  17. swing — music
  18. rest — what's left
  19. stock — shares
  20. stock — goods
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. swing — in golf
  23. squash — the sport
  24. rest — what's left

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