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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: race · chip · ruler · stock · current · cold · prune · fan

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. stock — shares
  5. prune — to trim
  6. race — the arms race
  7. prune — to trim
  8. chip — for betting
  9. current — of water
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. race — humankind
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — an illness
  18. stock — goods
  19. current — happening now
  20. chip — to eat
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. current — electric
  23. race — a contest
  24. ruler — a monarch

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