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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: file · rock · stock · bulb · fan · chest · wind · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. chest — a box
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — goods
  6. rock — a stone
  7. file — a document
  8. wind — moving air
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bulb — for light
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bulb — for light
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. rock — music
  18. file — a line of people
  19. shower — rain
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. chest — of your body
  22. file — a tool
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bulb — of a plant

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