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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: temple · present · wound · rash · mug · stock · cold · current

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. present — there
  3. mug — a cup
  4. stock — goods
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. present — the time now
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. mug — to rob
  10. present — a gift
  11. rash — hasty
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. cold — not warm
  14. current — of water
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. current — electric
  17. stock — shares
  18. current — happening now
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. wound — an injury
  21. rash — a series
  22. cold — an illness
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. mug — a face

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