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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. current — electric
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. cold — not warm
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. current — happening now
  8. rush — hurry
  9. ball — a great time
  10. foot — a measure
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bulb — for light
  13. current — of water
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. stock — shares
  16. stock — goods
  17. bulb — for light
  18. cold — an illness
  19. ball — a dance
  20. sharp — clever
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. foot — part of the body

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