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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: kick · clip · stock · current · rock · shower · pitch · content

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. content — happy
  4. clip — for paper
  5. stock — shares
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. rock — a stone
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. rock — music
  11. content — the amount
  12. shower — to wash
  13. pitch — completely
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. stock — goods
  16. current — of water
  17. shower — rain
  18. current — happening now
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — a video
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. kick — in football
  24. kick — a thrill

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