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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. season — in sport
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. drill — a practice
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. stock — goods
  7. current — electric
  8. net — for catching
  9. current — happening now
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. stock — shares
  12. drill — army training
  13. season — of the year
  14. net — after costs
  15. current — of water
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. net — in sport
  18. cold — an illness
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. drill — the tool
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. season — to add flavour

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