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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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. stock — shares
  4. current — of water
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. ball — a great time
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. swing — music
  9. swing — in golf
  10. current — happening now
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. chest — a box
  13. deal — to handle
  14. cold — an illness
  15. current — electric
  16. ball — a dance
  17. bark — to shout
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. cold — not warm
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. stock — goods
  22. chest — of your body
  23. swing — to play on
  24. bark — of a tree

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