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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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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: date · racket · current · capital · lash · stock · drill · prune

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. stock — shares
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. date — the fruit
  7. capital — money
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — army training
  11. current — happening now
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — to trim
  18. capital — a city
  19. stock — goods
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. drill — the tool
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. current — of water

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