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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 120 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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. firm — a company
  3. stock — goods
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. firm — decided
  6. stock — shares
  7. court — of law
  8. court — for sport
  9. firm — steady
  10. swing — in golf
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — an illness
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stand — to bear
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. current — happening now
  17. swing — music
  18. current — of water
  19. hand — in cards
  20. swing — to play on
  21. court — of a king
  22. hand — help
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. cold — the Cold War

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