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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 120 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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. season — in sport
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. pop — to visit
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pop — soda
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. season — of the year
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. stock — goods
  13. cold — not warm
  14. tear — to rip
  15. pop — music
  16. current — electric
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. tear — from crying
  19. current — of water
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. cold — an illness
  22. ball — a great time
  23. ball — a dance
  24. current — happening now

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