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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: present · cell · spell · pitcher · wind · ball · stock · squash

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. wind — moving air
  4. ball — a dance
  5. present — there
  6. spell — a short time
  7. squash — to crush
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. squash — the sport
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — in biology
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. cell — a phone
  17. ball — a great time
  18. present — a gift
  19. wind — moving air
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — shares
  22. spell — magic
  23. stock — goods
  24. present — the time now

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