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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. current — of water
  3. stock — shares
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. rash — hasty
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. current — electric
  8. craft — boats
  9. row — to paddle
  10. root — of a plant
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. root — of a word
  13. rash — a series
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. stock — goods
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. cold — an illness
  18. game — wild animals
  19. craft — a skill
  20. current — happening now
  21. root — the cause
  22. game — a match
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. cold — not warm

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