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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: chest · rush · stock · bound · file · roll · can · ground

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. ground — crushed
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. chest — of your body
  5. file — a document
  6. can — a tin
  7. chest — of your body
  8. roll — a cake
  9. bound — obliged
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. roll — a list
  12. bound — tied together
  13. ground — the earth
  14. rush — hurry
  15. chest — a box
  16. file — a tool
  17. stock — shares
  18. ground — a position
  19. bound — certain
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. can — to be able to
  22. file — a line of people
  23. stock — goods
  24. roll — on a roll

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