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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: plane · season · stock · wind · last · current · root · arm

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. last — finally
  5. stock — goods
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. root — of a word
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. current — electric
  11. root — of a plant
  12. season — of the year
  13. wind — moving air
  14. last — final
  15. plane — a tool
  16. stock — shares
  17. current — happening now
  18. current — of water
  19. root — the cause
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. last — to go on
  22. season — in sport
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. wind — to turn a key

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