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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: lean · pitcher · firm · mark · stock · chair · shower · date

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. chair — a leader
  3. lean — thin
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. firm — steady
  9. firm — decided
  10. stock — shares
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. lean — to bend
  14. mark — a grade
  15. date — the fruit
  16. mark — a trace
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. firm — a company
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. shower — rain
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. shower — to wash

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