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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: cabinet · present · straw · stock · pitch · shower · fan · file

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. present — a gift
  3. present — there
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. file — a tool
  9. shower — to wash
  10. file — a document
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. shower — rain
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. pitch — completely
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. stock — shares
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. file — a line of people
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. present — the time now
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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