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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 120 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: cold · content · straw · current · sharp · object · stock · swing

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. current — electric
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. current — of water
  5. object — an aim
  6. cold — not warm
  7. swing — in golf
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. stock — goods
  11. sharp — clever
  12. content — happy
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. object — a thing
  15. swing — music
  16. object — to protest
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. current — happening now
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. content — the amount
  22. cold — an illness
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. swing — to play on

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