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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 116 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. march — the month
  3. wind — moving air
  4. current — of water
  5. stock — goods
  6. rest — what's left
  7. current — happening now
  8. rest — what's left
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. march — music
  11. fine — all right
  12. shower — rain
  13. fine — high quality
  14. wind — moving air
  15. shower — to wash
  16. march — the month
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — a coil
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. spring — the season
  21. rest — a break
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. current — electric

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