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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: stem · bowl · fine · kid · current · stock · file · pop

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. pop — to visit
  4. stock — shares
  5. kid — to tease
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. current — of water
  8. current — happening now
  9. pop — music
  10. stem — to come from
  11. file — a document
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. fine — high quality
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. fine — all right
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. stock — goods
  21. pop — soda
  22. current — electric
  23. file — a tool
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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