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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
468
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: stock · craft · foot · chest · file · hand · pitch · straw

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. stock — shares
  3. file — a tool
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. hand — help
  6. chest — of your body
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. stock — goods
  9. file — a line of people
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. chest — a box
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. foot — a measure
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. pitch — completely
  19. hand — in cards
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. craft — a skill
  23. craft — boats
  24. chest — of your 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