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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: chest · squash · stock · shower · rush · chip · date · board

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. stock — goods
  3. squash — to crush
  4. rush — hurry
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. squash — the sport
  7. shower — to wash
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. board — a committee
  10. date — the fruit
  11. chest — a box
  12. chip — to eat
  13. shower — rain
  14. board — to get on
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. chip — for betting
  18. stock — shares
  19. chest — of your body
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. chest — of your body
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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