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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  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. current — electric
  2. present — a gift
  3. stock — shares
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. current — of water
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. present — the time now
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. wind — moving air
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. tear — to rip
  15. mark — a trace
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. saw — the tool
  18. tear — from crying
  19. stock — goods
  20. present — there
  21. mark — a grade
  22. saw — the tool
  23. tear — from crying
  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