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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. shower — rain
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. wound — an injury
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. current — of water
  7. shower — to wash
  8. stock — goods
  9. wound — an injury
  10. craft — a skill
  11. file — a tool
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. stock — shares
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. file — a document
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. drill — army training
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. drill — the tool
  20. current — electric
  21. drill — a practice
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. craft — boats
  24. file — a line of people

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