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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: stock · degree · stick · drill · last · chest · rush · current

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. rush — hurry
  4. degree — from a university
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. drill — army training
  7. drill — the tool
  8. degree — an amount
  9. chest — of your body
  10. degree — temperature
  11. chest — a box
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. drill — a practice
  14. current — happening now
  15. current — of water
  16. last — to go on
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stock — shares
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. chest — of your body
  21. stock — goods
  22. last — finally
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. last — final

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