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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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. game — a match
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. swing — to play on
  6. current — electric
  7. track — to keep track
  8. roll — a cake
  9. roll — a list
  10. cap — a lid
  11. track — a song
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — to crush
  14. current — of water
  15. track — a path
  16. swing — music
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. swing — in golf
  19. cap — of ice
  20. stock — goods
  21. squash — the sport
  22. game — wild animals
  23. cap — a hat
  24. stock — a soup base

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