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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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. present — a gift
  4. present — there
  5. current — electric
  6. tube — a container
  7. tube — the underground
  8. stock — goods
  9. cold — an illness
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. spell — letters
  13. cold — not warm
  14. current — of water
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. current — happening now
  17. bass — the fish
  18. spell — magic
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. present — the time now
  22. bass — low music
  23. spell — a short time
  24. rush — hurry

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