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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: file · shower · stock · key · chest · fan · firm · saw

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. shower — rain
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. firm — a company
  5. saw — the tool
  6. file — a tool
  7. key — in music
  8. key — for a lock
  9. file — a line of people
  10. firm — steady
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. key — the most important part
  13. file — a document
  14. stock — goods
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. saw — the tool
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. stock — shares
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. shower — to wash
  23. firm — decided
  24. chest — a box

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