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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · bass · rush · track · cold · stock · mug · leaves

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. bat — the animal
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. cold — an illness
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. bass — low music
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. track — a path
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bass — the fish
  14. track — to keep track
  15. stock — goods
  16. track — a song
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. mug — to rob
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. rush — hurry
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. mug — a face
  23. stock — shares
  24. mug — a cup

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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