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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. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. board — a committee
  3. cold — not warm
  4. net — for catching
  5. current — happening now
  6. net — after costs
  7. current — of water
  8. stock — goods
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. tear — to rip
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. net — in sport
  14. current — electric
  15. cold — an illness
  16. tear — from crying
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — an injury
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. tear — from crying
  21. board — to get on
  22. stock — shares
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. board — a flat piece

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