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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.

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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: stand · file · cold · band · straw · current · cabinet · stock

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. stock — shares
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. stock — goods
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. current — of water
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. band — a music group
  11. current — happening now
  12. band — a ring
  13. cold — not warm
  14. stand — to bear
  15. cold — an illness
  16. current — electric
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a line of people
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. file — a tool
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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