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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 116 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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  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. current — electric
  2. ball — a dance
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. cold — an illness
  6. mug — a face
  7. current — happening now
  8. mug — to rob
  9. rule — government
  10. stock — shares
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. ball — a great time
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. mug — a cup
  19. cold — not warm
  20. sharp — clever
  21. stock — goods
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. rule — a law
  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