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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: game · current · stock · cold · season · wind · bound · ruler

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. current — electric
  4. season — in sport
  5. wind — moving air
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. bound — tied together
  11. season — of the year
  12. game — a match
  13. stock — shares
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. current — of water
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — an illness
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. game — wild animals
  21. bound — certain
  22. stock — goods
  23. current — happening now
  24. bound — obliged

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