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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 · wave · hand · cold · bank · mine · bay · cell

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bank — of a river
  5. stock — shares
  6. bank — for money
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. bank — for money
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. cell — a phone
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. stock — goods
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cell — in biology
  21. hand — help
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. hand — in cards
  24. cold — an illness

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