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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: root · file · last · march · bound · arm · shower · stock

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. file — a document
  3. bound — tied together
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. root — of a plant
  6. last — to go on
  7. stock — goods
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. last — final
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. last — finally
  13. bound — certain
  14. bound — obliged
  15. march — the month
  16. stock — shares
  17. shower — rain
  18. file — a line of people
  19. file — a tool
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. root — the cause
  23. root — of a word
  24. shower — to wash

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