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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. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. shower — rain
  3. stock — shares
  4. bear — the animal
  5. shower — to wash
  6. bear — the animal
  7. degree — temperature
  8. snap — to click
  9. stock — goods
  10. current — happening now
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cap — a hat
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. cap — a lid
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. row — a line
  20. row — to paddle
  21. current — of water
  22. current — electric
  23. degree — an amount
  24. cap — of ice

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