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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: stock · lie · file · race · shower · hand · cabinet · pound

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. race — the arms race
  7. hand — help
  8. lie — to recline
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. file — a tool
  12. race — humankind
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. stock — shares
  16. pound — a weight
  17. shower — to wash
  18. file — a document
  19. race — a contest
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. file — a line of people
  23. stock — goods
  24. hand — in cards

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