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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: wind · calf · stock · mine · current · clip · pitcher · firm

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. firm — a company
  3. current — electric
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. clip — a video
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — goods
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. wind — moving air
  13. firm — decided
  14. firm — steady
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. stock — shares
  18. wind — moving air
  19. clip — to cut
  20. mine — for digging
  21. current — of water
  22. current — happening now
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. clip — for paper

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