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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: mark · bulb · pitcher · net · current · band · wind · stock

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. net — after costs
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. current — of water
  5. mark — a trace
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a music group
  8. net — for catching
  9. bulb — for light
  10. mark — a grade
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. stock — shares
  14. net — in sport
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. wind — moving air
  20. current — electric
  21. band — a ring
  22. bulb — for light
  23. stock — goods
  24. current — happening now

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