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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: cap · mug · present · bat · wave · shower · stock · game

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — goods
  4. bat — the animal
  5. mug — to rob
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. mug — a cup
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. game — wild animals
  11. present — the time now
  12. cap — a hat
  13. present — a gift
  14. stock — shares
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. cap — of ice
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. game — a match
  20. cap — a lid
  21. present — there
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. mug — a face
  24. shower — rain

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