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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mug · march · stock · wind · root · race · spring · current

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  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. mug — a face
  2. stock — shares
  3. march — music
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. mug — a cup
  7. march — the month
  8. wind — moving air
  9. march — the month
  10. stock — goods
  11. current — electric
  12. root — the cause
  13. spring — a coil
  14. spring — of water
  15. root — of a word
  16. root — of a plant
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. mug — to rob
  19. spring — the season
  20. current — of water
  21. race — humankind
  22. race — a contest
  23. race — the arms race
  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