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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 · fan · track · season · pitcher · shower · rule · kid

  1. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. season — of the year
  3. stock — shares
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. kid — child
  6. stock — goods
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. track — a song
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. rule — government
  15. kid — to tease
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. track — a path
  18. rule — a law
  19. shower — to wash
  20. track — to keep track
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. shower — rain
  24. fan — to cool the air

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