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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. cold — an illness
  3. season — in sport
  4. rash — hasty
  5. swing — to play on
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. swing — in golf
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. pound — a weight
  10. stock — goods
  11. swing — music
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. dip — to sink
  16. season — of the year
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. cold — not warm
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. rash — a series

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