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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: stock · shower · pop · bowl · current · cold · racket · wake

  1. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. wake — a trail
  3. cold — not warm
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. current — electric
  9. current — of water
  10. stock — goods
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. stock — shares
  14. current — happening now
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. pop — to visit
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. pop — music
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. shower — rain
  22. cold — an illness
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. shower — to wash

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