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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. rock — music
  3. ground — crushed
  4. stock — goods
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. wound — an injury
  7. current — happening now
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. current — of water
  10. wound — an injury
  11. ground — a position
  12. stock — shares
  13. current — electric
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. ground — the earth
  18. rock — a stone

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