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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. stock — goods
  3. degree — from a university
  4. land — a country
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. squash — the sport
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. ball — a dance
  10. land — to come down
  11. squash — to crush
  12. degree — temperature
  13. land — ground
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. race — the arms race
  16. degree — an amount
  17. ball — a great time
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. race — humankind
  20. stock — shares
  21. race — a contest
  22. current — happening now
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. current — of water

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