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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: clip · wave · bat · shower · hide · pound · roll · stock

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. roll — a list
  4. shower — to wash
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. stock — shares
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. clip — for paper
  12. shower — rain
  13. clip — to cut
  14. bat — the animal
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. clip — a video
  19. pound — a weight
  20. roll — a cake
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. stock — goods
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. pound — to hit hard

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