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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: fall · perch · stock · current · stick · chest · clip · spring

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. fall — the season
  3. spring — of water
  4. current — of water
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. fall — to drop
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. stock — goods
  11. current — happening now
  12. stock — shares
  13. perch — the fish
  14. clip — to cut
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. clip — a video
  18. fall — to drop
  19. clip — for paper
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. spring — a coil
  22. chest — a box
  23. spring — the season
  24. perch — for a bird

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