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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. current — of water
  4. can — a tin
  5. current — happening now
  6. stock — goods
  7. cold — not warm
  8. prune — to trim
  9. stock — shares
  10. current — electric
  11. spring — the season
  12. last — finally
  13. can — to be able to
  14. last — to go on
  15. spring — a coil
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. prune — to trim
  18. spring — of water
  19. pit — in a race
  20. cold — an illness
  21. last — final
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. can — a tin
  24. pit — a hole

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