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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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. stock — shares
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. ball — a great time
  6. ball — a dance
  7. current — of water
  8. spring — a coil
  9. current — happening now
  10. spring — of water
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. kid — child
  13. current — electric
  14. board — a committee
  15. spring — the season
  16. clip — to cut
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — a video
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. board — to get on
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. kid — to tease
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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