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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 116 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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. snap — to click
  3. rash — a series
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. stock — shares
  6. cell — in biology
  7. tear — to rip
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. tear — from crying
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. cell — a phone
  14. rash — hasty
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. current — electric
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. current — of water
  19. bass — low music
  20. tear — from crying
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. stock — goods
  24. bass — the fish

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