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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 120 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: rash · pound · stock · cell · tear · drill · current · bat

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. tear — to rip
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rash — a series
  5. pound — a weight
  6. cell — a phone
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. drill — army training
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. tear — from crying
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. current — happening now
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. stock — goods
  17. current — of water
  18. tear — from crying
  19. stock — shares
  20. current — electric
  21. drill — a practice
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. bat — the animal
  24. cell — in biology

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