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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 · chest · stock · perch · drill · charge · wake · season

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. charge — in control
  4. wake — a trail
  5. stock — shares
  6. file — a document
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. drill — a practice
  9. season — in sport
  10. charge — a price
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. season — of the year
  13. drill — army training
  14. file — a tool
  15. drill — the tool
  16. chest — of your body
  17. stock — goods
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. file — a line of people
  20. chest — a box
  21. chest — of your body
  22. perch — the fish
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wake — before a funeral

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