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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. current — of water
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. current — happening now
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. current — electric
  8. stock — goods
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bat — the animal
  11. staff — employees
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. bank — for money
  14. bank — of a river
  15. stock — shares
  16. cold — not warm
  17. prune — to trim
  18. staff — a stick
  19. staff — employees
  20. bank — for money
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bowl — a dish
  24. cold — an illness

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