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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: stock · current · bat · pound · snap · chair · rule · shower

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. current — electric
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. chair — a leader
  5. current — happening now
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. snap — to click
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. shower — to wash
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. stock — shares
  12. rule — a law
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. stock — goods
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. current — of water
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. rule — government
  22. pound — a weight
  23. shower — rain
  24. bat — the animal

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