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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  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. last — finally
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — of the year
  4. last — to go on
  5. cold — an illness
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. current — happening now
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. stock — goods
  11. bass — the fish
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. current — electric
  14. cold — not warm
  15. mark — a trace
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. last — final
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. mark — a grade
  22. stock — shares
  23. bass — low music
  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