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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: content · mouse · last · sharp · current · shower · bay · stock

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. current — of water
  3. current — happening now
  4. last — final
  5. last — finally
  6. shower — rain
  7. last — to go on
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. content — the amount
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. shower — to wash
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. bay — to keep at bay
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. current — electric
  22. stock — shares
  23. stock — goods
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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