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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. current — happening now
  3. craft — boats
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — goods
  6. date — the fruit
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. pit — a hole
  9. pit — in a race
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. stock — shares
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. saw — the tool
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. craft — a skill
  19. rule — government
  20. saw — the tool
  21. cold — an illness
  22. current — of water
  23. cold — not warm
  24. rule — a law

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