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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. stock — goods
  3. kid — child
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fall — the season
  7. cell — a phone
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fall — to drop
  10. staff — a stick
  11. staff — employees
  12. cell — in biology
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. kid — to tease
  15. band — a music group
  16. band — a ring
  17. stock — shares
  18. shower — rain
  19. fall — to drop
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. shower — to wash
  22. staff — employees
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. stock — a soup base

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