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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: stock · mine · bat · cold · toast · rest · hide · wave

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. rest — what's left
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. mine — for digging
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. rest — a break
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. stock — shares
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. bat — the animal
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. toast — bread
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. rest — what's left
  23. stock — goods
  24. toast — a drink to someone

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