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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. current — of water
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. wake — a trail
  5. dip — to sink
  6. hand — in cards
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. hand — help
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. stock — goods
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. stock — shares
  16. current — electric
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. wind — moving air
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cold — an illness
  24. current — happening now

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