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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. ball — a dance
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. current — of water
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. row — to paddle
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. shower — rain
  11. row — a line
  12. current — happening now
  13. stock — goods
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. stock — shares
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. wound — an injury
  19. cold — an illness
  20. ball — a great time
  21. shower — to wash
  22. wound — an injury
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. cold — not warm

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