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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.

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: ruler · staff · fan · file · track · stock · shower · rash

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. staff — employees
  4. stock — goods
  5. stock — shares
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. staff — employees
  9. file — a line of people
  10. shower — rain
  11. staff — a stick
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a tool
  14. rash — hasty
  15. track — a song
  16. rash — a series
  17. track — to keep track
  18. shower — to wash
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. track — a path

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