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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: roll · drill · current · rest · clip · net · stock · march

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. net — after costs
  3. rest — what's left
  4. net — in sport
  5. rest — what's left
  6. current — electric
  7. clip — for paper
  8. stock — goods
  9. current — happening now
  10. stock — shares
  11. march — music
  12. net — for catching
  13. roll — a list
  14. rest — a break
  15. drill — army training
  16. roll — a cake
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. clip — a video
  19. march — the month
  20. current — of water
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. march — the month
  23. drill — a practice
  24. clip — to cut

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