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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. bat — the animal
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. last — finally
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. track — to keep track
  9. current — of water
  10. last — to go on
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. track — a path
  14. shower — to wash
  15. track — a song
  16. wake — a trail
  17. last — final
  18. stock — shares
  19. wound — an injury
  20. current — electric
  21. wound — an injury
  22. shower — rain
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. current — happening now

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