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

Word bank: stock · roll · bowl · stand · snap · mark · cold · rule

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. stock — goods
  3. rule — a law
  4. cold — not warm
  5. roll — a cake
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. stand — to bear
  8. roll — a list
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. cold — an illness
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. mark — a grade
  16. snap — to click
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. stock — shares
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. mark — a trace
  23. rule — government
  24. bowl — to roll

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