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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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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: cap · current · cold · clip · race · stock · bowl · stem

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. clip — to cut
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. race — a contest
  5. clip — for paper
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cap — of ice
  8. race — the arms race
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. cap — a hat
  11. current — happening now
  12. race — humankind
  13. stock — shares
  14. stem — to come from
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. clip — a video
  17. stock — goods
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cap — a lid
  24. current — electric

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