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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: stock · chest · saw · net · plane · shower · snap · fan

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. plane — a tool
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. chest — of your body
  10. saw — the tool
  11. net — for catching
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. stock — shares
  14. chest — a box
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. shower — rain
  17. snap — to click
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. shower — to wash
  22. stock — goods
  23. saw — the tool
  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