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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: safe · cold · band · sharp · stock · net · shower · lash

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. stock — goods
  3. band — a music group
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. stock — shares
  6. sharp — clever
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. band — a ring
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. net — for catching
  13. shower — to wash
  14. shower — rain
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. net — after costs
  19. net — in sport
  20. cold — not warm
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. band — a rubber band

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