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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: wind · stock · fan · pitcher · current · coach · rest · content

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. wind — moving air
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. content — the amount
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. stock — shares
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. stock — goods
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. current — of water
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. current — electric
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. current — happening now
  19. content — happy
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. wind — moving air
  22. rest — what's left
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. rest — what's left

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