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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: wind · mate · firm · fall · shower · stock · field · hide

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. fall — to drop
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. shower — to wash
  6. stock — goods
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mate — a friend
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — a subject
  13. firm — a company
  14. mate — a partner
  15. fall — to drop
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. firm — steady
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. shower — rain
  20. firm — decided
  21. stock — shares
  22. fall — the season
  23. field — for sport
  24. wind — moving air

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