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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: rash · nail · stock · roll · land · current · kid · wax

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. rash — a series
  5. land — to come down
  6. current — happening now
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. current — electric
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. stock — goods
  11. roll — a cake
  12. kid — to tease
  13. wax — to grow
  14. current — of water
  15. stock — shares
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. land — ground
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. roll — a list
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. land — a country

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