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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: pitcher · stock · sharp · fan · bowl · file · chest · clip

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. stock — goods
  3. chest — a box
  4. stock — shares
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. sharp — clever
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. clip — a video
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a tool
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. clip — for paper
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. file — a line of people
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — of your body
  24. clip — to cut

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