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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 116 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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. stock — shares
  3. shower — rain
  4. stock — goods
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. current — electric
  8. saw — the tool
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a ring
  11. drill — a practice
  12. present — a gift
  13. saw — the tool
  14. present — the time now
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. current — happening now
  17. current — of water
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. cold — not warm
  20. shower — to wash
  21. cold — an illness
  22. present — there
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — army training

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