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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. current — happening now
  3. wound — an injury
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. shower — to wash
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. shower — rain
  8. stock — goods
  9. spring — the season
  10. cell — a phone
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. mark — a grade
  13. pass — a permit
  14. current — of water
  15. spring — of water
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. spring — a coil
  18. current — electric
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. cell — in biology
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. mark — a trace
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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