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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: current · fan · shower · cold · nail · band · kid · stock

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — shares
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. kid — child
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. cold — not warm
  8. current — happening now
  9. current — electric
  10. current — of water
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. band — a music group
  13. kid — to tease
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. shower — to wash
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. cold — an illness
  23. band — a ring
  24. nail — for a hammer

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