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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: shower · bore · current · cold · ball · arm · scale · stock

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. shower — rain
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. ball — a great time
  6. current — happening now
  7. scale — size or range
  8. current — electric
  9. scale — in music
  10. shower — to wash
  11. ball — a dance
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. cold — not warm
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. stock — goods
  17. bore — to tire
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stock — shares
  20. cold — an illness
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. bore — to drill
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. scale — for weighing

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