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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: net · bass · mark · club · cold · stock · current · rest

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. rest — what's left
  3. stock — goods
  4. mark — a grade
  5. current — of water
  6. current — electric
  7. net — after costs
  8. bass — the fish
  9. mark — a trace
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bass — low music
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. net — for catching
  14. cold — an illness
  15. club — for golf
  16. club — a group
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. stock — shares
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — a break
  21. current — happening now
  22. cold — not warm
  23. club — for dancing
  24. net — in sport

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