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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 116 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: board · stock · cap · band · race · current · stem · content

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — shares
  4. stem — to come from
  5. cap — a hat
  6. race — the arms race
  7. race — humankind
  8. current — electric
  9. current — of water
  10. band — a ring
  11. current — happening now
  12. board — a committee
  13. board — to get on
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. cap — a lid
  16. cap — of ice
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. band — a music group
  23. race — a contest
  24. content — happy

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