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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: kid · chip · net · bat · wake · stock · drill · current

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. stock — shares
  3. kid — to tease
  4. current — happening now
  5. chip — to eat
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. chip — for betting
  8. wake — a trail
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. drill — army training
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. net — in sport
  13. bat — the animal
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. current — of water
  16. kid — child
  17. net — after costs
  18. drill — the tool
  19. stock — goods
  20. drill — a practice
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. net — for catching
  23. current — electric
  24. stock — a soup base

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