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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 116 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: season · current · club · fan · stock · rest · band · tear

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. rest — what's left
  4. club — for golf
  5. band — a ring
  6. stock — shares
  7. rest — what's left
  8. club — for dancing
  9. club — a group
  10. current — electric
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. stock — goods
  13. current — happening now
  14. season — in sport
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. tear — to rip
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. tear — from crying
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. band — a music group
  22. rest — a break
  23. season — of the year
  24. tear — from crying

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