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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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  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. mark — a grade
  2. cap — of ice
  3. land — to come down
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. stock — shares
  6. land — a country
  7. cap — a hat
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. content — the amount
  14. current — electric
  15. land — ground
  16. content — happy
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — to tease
  19. mark — a trace
  20. cap — a lid
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. stock — goods
  23. current — of water
  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