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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 · bark · fall · pitcher · rush · mate · current · tear

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. rush — hurry
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. tear — to rip
  5. tear — from crying
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. bark — to shout
  8. fall — the season
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. current — electric
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. fall — to drop
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. stock — shares
  15. mate — a partner
  16. tear — from crying
  17. current — happening now
  18. mate — to breed
  19. fall — to drop
  20. mate — a friend
  21. stock — goods
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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