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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 120 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: file · march · wound · kick · current · stock · cell · deal

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. file — a tool
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. march — music
  5. cell — in biology
  6. march — the month
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. kick — in football
  11. wound — an injury
  12. current — electric
  13. stock — shares
  14. current — of water
  15. deal — to handle
  16. file — a document
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. march — the month
  19. current — happening now
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. stock — goods
  23. file — a line of people
  24. deal — a big deal

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