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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  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. cold — the Cold War
  2. stock — goods
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. current — electric
  5. court — of law
  6. pitch — completely
  7. stock — shares
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. sharp — clever
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. ball — a great time
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. court — of a king
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. court — for sport
  19. current — of water
  20. cold — not warm
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. cold — an illness
  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