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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: shower · rule · land · current · tear · hide · stock · club

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. shower — rain
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. current — of water
  6. tear — to rip
  7. current — electric
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. land — to come down
  11. shower — to wash
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. land — ground
  14. stock — goods
  15. club — a group
  16. rule — government
  17. club — for golf
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. club — for dancing
  20. tear — from crying
  21. tear — from crying
  22. land — a country
  23. current — happening now
  24. stock — shares

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