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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 120 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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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: current · rule · stock · bay · perch · cell · wind · last

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. My mare is ________________ in color.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. cell — a phone
  3. current — electric
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. last — finally
  6. rule — government
  7. current — happening now
  8. last — to go on
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. stock — goods
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. perch — the fish
  19. rule — a law
  20. last — final
  21. bay — a horse colour
  22. wind — moving air
  23. current — of water
  24. cell — in biology

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