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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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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: stock · hide · kid · swing · bay · net

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — to tease
  4. net — after costs
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — in sport
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. stock — goods
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. swing — in golf
  12. swing — music
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. bay — a part of the sea
  16. kid — child
  17. stock — shares
  18. swing — to play on

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