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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 · snap · court · stock · deal · rush · current · rock

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. rock — music
  3. stock — goods
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. court — for sport
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. deal — to handle
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. court — of law
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. current — of water
  12. cold — an illness
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. cold — not warm
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. current — electric
  17. snap — to click
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. rush — hurry
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. rock — a stone
  22. current — happening now
  23. court — of a king
  24. stock — shares

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