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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 · cold · current · ball · mark · last · ruler · straw

  1. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. ball — a dance
  3. cold — an illness
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. stock — shares
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. cold — not warm
  8. last — finally
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. ball — a great time
  11. mark — a trace
  12. current — happening now
  13. current — of water
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. last — to go on
  16. last — final
  17. mark — a grade
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. stock — goods
  23. current — electric
  24. ball — a round shape

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