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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · perch · current · clip · capital · calf · rest

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. rest — a break
  3. rest — what's left
  4. current — happening now
  5. current — of water
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. perch — the fish
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. rest — what's left
  14. stock — goods
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — money
  17. stock — shares
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — for paper
  20. current — electric
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. clip — a video
  24. calf — a young animal

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