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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: straw · cold · current · game · bear · land · stock · plane

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. current — happening now
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. stock — goods
  6. land — to come down
  7. current — electric
  8. cold — an illness
  9. land — ground
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. bear — the animal
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stock — shares
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. game — a match
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. land — a country
  20. game — wild animals
  21. current — of water
  22. plane — a tool
  23. bear — the animal
  24. game — a kind of play

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