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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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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. pit — in a race
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. stock — shares
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. craft — a skill
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. craft — boats
  9. rule — a law
  10. cold — an illness
  11. current — electric
  12. current — of water
  13. pit — a hole
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rule — government
  16. current — happening now
  17. cold — not warm
  18. stock — goods

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