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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: wind · current · coach · tear · stock · sharp · court · pound

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. stock — goods
  3. tear — from crying
  4. current — happening now
  5. pound — a weight
  6. current — of water
  7. sharp — clever
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. court — of a king
  10. tear — to rip
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. tear — from crying
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. wind — moving air
  16. current — electric
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. stock — shares
  21. court — for sport
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. court — of law
  24. coach — a trainer

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