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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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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: shower · mug · band · foot · current · net · stock · saw

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. saw — the tool
  3. band — a music group
  4. mug — a face
  5. stock — goods
  6. net — for catching
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. stock — shares
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. current — happening now
  12. mug — a cup
  13. mug — to rob
  14. net — after costs
  15. shower — rain
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. current — of water
  18. net — in sport
  19. current — electric
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. foot — a measure
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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