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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: shower · stock · arm · press · cold · file · swing · suit

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. cold — not warm
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. suit — to fit
  6. shower — rain
  7. file — a tool
  8. stock — shares
  9. press — to push
  10. suit — in cards
  11. cold — an illness
  12. press — a publisher
  13. shower — to wash
  14. swing — to play on
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. swing — in golf
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. swing — music
  19. suit — clothes
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a document
  22. press — newspapers
  23. stock — goods
  24. arm — part of the body

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