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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: rest · wind · craft · net · stock · swing · rule · current

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. net — after costs
  3. rule — government
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. rest — what's left
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. craft — a skill
  8. net — in sport
  9. rest — a break
  10. swing — to play on
  11. craft — boats
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. stock — shares
  14. current — of water
  15. net — for catching
  16. wind — moving air
  17. stock — goods
  18. rule — a law
  19. wind — moving air
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. swing — music
  22. rest — what's left
  23. swing — in golf
  24. current — happening now

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