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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: patient · kid · stock · trunk · shower · file · jam · net

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. file — a line of people
  3. net — for catching
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. stock — shares
  7. stock — goods
  8. kid — to tease
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. kid — child
  11. net — after costs
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. net — in sport
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. shower — rain
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. file — a document
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. shower — to wash
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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