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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 · wave · land · stock · current · cabinet · hide · content

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. current — of water
  5. stock — shares
  6. land — a country
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. content — happy
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. land — ground
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. current — electric
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. stock — goods
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. land — to come down
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. bat — the animal
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. current — happening now
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. content — the amount

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