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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: swing · kid · shower · dip · stock · mine · file · key

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Hard work is the ________________ to success.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. file — a document
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. key — for a lock
  6. key — in music
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. swing — to play on
  10. file — a line of people
  11. shower — rain
  12. stock — shares
  13. swing — music
  14. swing — in golf
  15. mine — for digging
  16. dip — to sink
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. kid — to tease
  22. stock — goods
  23. file — a tool
  24. key — the most important part

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