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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. can — a tin
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. cold — an illness
  6. spring — the season
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. can — a tin
  9. drill — a practice
  10. spring — of water
  11. drill — the tool
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. can — to be able to
  14. current — electric
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — the animal
  18. current — happening now
  19. current — of water
  20. cold — not warm
  21. drill — army training
  22. stock — goods
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. spring — a coil

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