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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: kid · bowl · cold · last · clip · stock · rush · dip

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. kid — to tease
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. dip — to sink
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. last — to go on
  10. kid — child
  11. clip — for paper
  12. clip — a video
  13. last — final
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. cold — not warm
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. clip — to cut
  18. stock — shares
  19. rush — hurry
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. last — finally

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