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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: chest · mate · stock · file · charge · pit · deal · lean

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. lean — to bend
  3. charge — electricity
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. pit — a hole
  6. file — a document
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. chest — a box
  9. charge — in control
  10. stock — shares
  11. deal — to handle
  12. charge — a price
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. mate — a partner
  15. file — a line of people
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. chest — of your body
  18. file — a tool
  19. mate — to breed
  20. chest — of your body
  21. stock — goods
  22. lean — thin
  23. pit — in a race
  24. mate — a friend

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