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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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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: kid · bay · stock · wind · tear · current

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. kid — child
  3. stock — shares
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. current — electric
  6. tear — to rip
  7. current — of water
  8. kid — to tease
  9. tear — from crying
  10. current — happening now
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. stock — goods
  13. tear — from crying
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wind — moving air
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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