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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: wave · file · stock · hide · bay · deal · trunk · cold

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. stock — goods
  5. deal — to handle
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. file — a line of people
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. file — a tool
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. file — a document
  24. stock — shares

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