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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: chest · stock · hide · sharp · shower · pass · stick · wind

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. wind — moving air
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. chest — of your body
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. stock — shares
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. wind — moving air
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. shower — rain
  13. pass — a permit
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. shower — to wash
  17. stock — goods
  18. sharp — clever
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. chest — a box
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. chest — of your body

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