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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: stock · shower · march · fall · current · capital · key · chip

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. shower — to wash
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. fall — the season
  5. current — happening now
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. fall — to drop
  8. march — the month
  9. current — electric
  10. fall — to drop
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — a city
  14. march — music
  15. current — of water
  16. stock — shares
  17. march — the month
  18. key — the most important part
  19. shower — rain
  20. chip — for betting
  21. key — in music
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. chip — to eat
  24. stock — goods

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