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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 120 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: nail · spring · stock · kid · squash · swing · rule · hide

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — shares
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. rule — government
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — child
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. swing — in golf
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. squash — to crush
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. swing — music
  16. spring — a coil
  17. swing — to play on
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. spring — of water
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. spring — the season
  23. rule — a law
  24. nail — for a hammer

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