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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: game · sharp · current · stock · tear · perch · branch · fan

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  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. game — wild animals
  2. perch — the fish
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. tear — from crying
  7. branch — a division
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. sharp — clever
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. current — of water
  13. stock — goods
  14. current — electric
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. tear — from crying
  17. stock — shares
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. game — a match
  22. tear — to rip
  23. fan — a supporter
  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