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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 · current · perch · sharp · root · fan · land · squash

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. perch — the fish
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. current — of water
  6. squash — the sport
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. land — a country
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. stock — shares
  12. squash — to crush
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. current — electric
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. land — to come down
  17. current — happening now
  18. root — of a word
  19. land — ground
  20. root — of a plant
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. root — the cause
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. stock — goods

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