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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 116 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: pop · wave · tear · file · net · bank · cold · stock

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. bank — for money
  3. file — a line of people
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stock — goods
  6. tear — to rip
  7. bank — of a river
  8. cold — an illness
  9. net — after costs
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. bank — for money
  12. stock — shares
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. pop — music
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pop — soda
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. cold — not warm
  22. tear — from crying
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. net — for catching

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