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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 116 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: bat · chair · wave · bay · stock · cell · hand · cabinet

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. stock — shares
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. hand — help
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. bat — the animal
  15. stock — goods
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. cell — a phone
  21. cell — in biology
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. cabinet — ministers

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