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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. rush — hurry
  4. cap — a hat
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. cap — of ice
  7. cap — a lid
  8. wind — moving air
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. last — to go on
  11. fine — all right
  12. current — of water
  13. stock — shares
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. last — finally
  16. clip — for paper
  17. current — happening now
  18. stock — goods
  19. wind — moving air
  20. clip — a video
  21. last — final
  22. clip — to cut
  23. fine — high quality
  24. rush — a thrill

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