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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. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a signal
  2. stock — shares
  3. row — to paddle
  4. current — of water
  5. stock — goods
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cue — a hint
  11. current — happening now
  12. spell — letters
  13. degree — temperature
  14. degree — from a university
  15. spell — magic
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. degree — an amount
  19. spell — a short time
  20. current — electric
  21. row — a line
  22. cue — for pool
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. patient — a sick person

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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