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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
468
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: current · stock · stem · mine · saw · kid · wind · fan

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  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. stock — goods
  3. mine — for digging
  4. kid — child
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. current — happening now
  8. stock — shares
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stem — to come from
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. current — of water
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. saw — the tool
  19. saw — the tool
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — to tease
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. current — electric
  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