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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: cue · file · stock · date · bowl · hand · bat · fall

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. cue — a signal
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. hand — help
  5. cue — for pool
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. cue — a hint
  8. stock — shares
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. date — the fruit
  14. stock — goods
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fall — the season
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a tool

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