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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: present · cabinet · net · current · mug · drill · stock · kid

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — goods
  4. current — of water
  5. mug — a face
  6. current — happening now
  7. present — there
  8. present — a gift
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. mug — a cup
  11. drill — the tool
  12. mug — to rob
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. net — for catching
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. stock — shares
  18. drill — a practice
  19. kid — to tease
  20. present — the time now
  21. current — electric
  22. net — after costs
  23. net — in sport
  24. drill — army training

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