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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: arm · cold · leaves · shower · land · key · stock · drill

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. drill — army training
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. key — for a lock
  7. stock — goods
  8. cold — an illness
  9. drill — a practice
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — to wash
  12. drill — the tool
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. cold — not warm
  15. key — the most important part
  16. land — to come down
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. stock — shares
  19. land — a country
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. land — ground
  24. arm — a part of something

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