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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: straw · stock · fall · season · wound · pound · file · current

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. stock — goods
  4. season — of the year
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. season — in sport
  8. stock — shares
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a line of people
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. fall — the season
  14. fall — to drop
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. current — happening now
  19. wound — an injury
  20. file — a tool
  21. fall — to drop
  22. current — electric
  23. current — of water
  24. pound — a weight

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