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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 120 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: perch · stock · cabinet · bass · hand · bat · content · staff

  1. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  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. cabinet — a cupboard
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bass — low music
  4. stock — shares
  5. bass — the fish
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. staff — employees
  10. staff — employees
  11. hand — in cards
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. bat — the animal
  17. perch — the fish
  18. stock — goods
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. staff — a stick
  21. hand — help
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — happy
  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