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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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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: mine · stock · wave · bay · lean · kid · pitcher · file

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. file — a line of people
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. kid — child
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. file — a document
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. lean — to bend
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. file — a tool
  20. mine — for digging
  21. lean — thin
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. kid — to tease
  24. stock — goods

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