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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: content · hide · cold · bulb · race · bat · stock · cabinet

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. bulb — for light
  4. race — humankind
  5. race — a contest
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — the animal
  8. cold — not warm
  9. stock — goods
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. content — the amount
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. content — happy
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. race — the arms race
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. bulb — of a plant

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