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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. 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. stock — a soup base
  2. wound — an injury
  3. stock — shares
  4. bear — the animal
  5. current — electric
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. bear — the animal
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. current — of water
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. tube — a container
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — moving air
  17. current — happening now
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. tube — the underground
  23. wound — an injury
  24. 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