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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. cold — not warm
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. hand — help
  5. sharp — clever
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. pop — to visit
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. stock — goods
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. pop — soda
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. cold — an illness
  15. deal — to handle
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. wake — a trail
  18. hand — in cards
  19. stock — shares
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. pass — a permit
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. pop — music

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