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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. degree — an amount
  3. current — of water
  4. current — electric
  5. current — happening now
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. bank — for money
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stock — shares
  12. bank — for money
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. stock — goods
  15. degree — temperature
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. saw — the tool
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. bank — of a river
  24. degree — from a university

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