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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: land · chest · drill · pit · stock · rock · cabinet · shower

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. What do you think of the new ________________?
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — ground
  3. pit — a hole
  4. chest — of your body
  5. drill — the tool
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. drill — a practice
  8. chest — a box
  9. pit — in a race
  10. chest — of your body
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. stock — goods
  13. shower — to wash
  14. stock — shares
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. drill — army training
  20. rock — music
  21. land — to come down
  22. shower — rain
  23. rock — a stone
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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