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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. drill — a practice
  3. current — electric
  4. spell — magic
  5. stock — goods
  6. track — a path
  7. track — to keep track
  8. drill — army training
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. spell — letters
  13. current — of water
  14. last — finally
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. track — a song
  17. last — to go on
  18. spell — a short time
  19. drill — the tool
  20. row — to paddle
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. row — a line
  23. stock — shares
  24. last — final

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