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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: shower · row · charge · file · net · pit · stock · saw

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. shower — rain
  3. charge — in control
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — after costs
  6. file — a document
  7. net — in sport
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. charge — a price
  10. charge — electricity
  11. pit — a hole
  12. file — a line of people
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. file — a tool
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. stock — shares
  18. pit — in a race
  19. saw — the tool
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. row — a line
  22. shower — to wash
  23. row — to paddle
  24. stock — goods

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