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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: wake · cold · mine · bulb · bat · staff · stock · perch

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. bulb — for light
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. cold — not warm
  6. stock — shares
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. staff — employees
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. staff — employees
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. staff — a stick
  13. bulb — for light
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. wake — a trail
  16. bat — the animal
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. perch — the fish
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bulb — of a plant
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. mine — for digging

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