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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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. cue — a hint
  3. current — happening now
  4. mate — a partner
  5. can — to be able to
  6. cold — not warm
  7. mate — a friend
  8. cue — a signal
  9. cue — for pool
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. mate — to breed
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — magic
  14. stock — goods
  15. stock — shares
  16. ball — a great time
  17. cold — an illness
  18. can — a tin
  19. current — electric
  20. can — a tin
  21. ball — a dance
  22. spell — a short time
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. current — of water

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