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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. stock — shares
  5. hand — help
  6. cold — not warm
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. can — a tin
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. hand — in cards
  14. file — a tool
  15. shower — to wash
  16. file — a line of people
  17. can — to be able to
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. cold — an illness
  20. shower — rain
  21. stock — goods
  22. stand — to bear
  23. can — a tin
  24. file — a document

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