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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: chest · tear · net · bat · wake · wave · cue · stock

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. cue — a signal
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. cue — a hint
  8. bat — the animal
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. wake — a trail
  12. net — after costs
  13. net — in sport
  14. net — for catching
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. cue — for pool
  20. stock — goods
  21. chest — a box
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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