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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: file · mine · wave · stock · dip · chest · content · arm

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. chest — of your body
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. dip — to sink
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. chest — a box
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. stock — goods
  13. file — a tool
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — happy
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. file — a document
  19. content — the amount
  20. mine — for digging
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. chest — of your body
  23. file — a line of people
  24. arm — a part of something

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