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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 124 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're almost out of ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. pop — soda
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. spell — magic
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. current — of water
  7. pop — music
  8. spell — a short time
  9. board — a committee
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. current — happening now
  12. cold — not warm
  13. stock — goods
  14. board — to get on
  15. cold — an illness
  16. current — electric
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. spell — letters
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. pop — to visit
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. cabinet — ministers

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