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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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. club — a group
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — an amount
  7. wind — moving air
  8. ball — a dance
  9. current — happening now
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. degree — from a university
  13. current — electric
  14. wind — moving air
  15. club — for golf
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. stock — goods
  19. current — of water
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. club — for dancing
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. ball — a great time
  24. wave — with your hand

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