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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: stock · capital · mark · charge · current · shower · lash · scale

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. capital — money
  5. mark — a grade
  6. current — happening now
  7. scale — in music
  8. charge — in control
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. current — electric
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. scale — size or range
  14. charge — a price
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. capital — a city
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. charge — electricity
  19. mark — a trace
  20. current — of water
  21. shower — rain
  22. stock — goods
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. stock — shares

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