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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. track — to keep track
  4. bear — the animal
  5. land — a country
  6. track — a path
  7. cold — an illness
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. current — of water
  11. stock — goods
  12. cold — not warm
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. track — a song
  16. saw — the tool
  17. stock — shares
  18. land — ground
  19. land — to come down
  20. bear — the animal
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. current — electric
  23. current — happening now
  24. wound — an injury

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