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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · current · file · plane · bark · can · kid · chest

  1. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. current — electric
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. stock — shares
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. plane — a tool
  8. chest — a box
  9. kid — to tease
  10. stock — goods
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. bark — to shout
  13. chest — of your body
  14. can — to be able to
  15. current — of water
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. file — a tool
  18. kid — child
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. can — a tin
  21. chest — of your body
  22. current — happening now
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a line of people

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