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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: ball · shower · cold · deal · lie · stock · kid · jam

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  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. stock — goods
  2. shower — rain
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. kid — to tease
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. cold — not warm
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. stock — shares
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. shower — to wash
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. deal — to handle
  19. ball — a dance
  20. ball — a great time
  21. kid — child
  22. lie — to recline
  23. cold — the Cold War
  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