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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: club · current · pass · track · cold · stock · bat · court

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. current — happening now
  3. stock — goods
  4. pass — to spend time
  5. track — a path
  6. cold — not warm
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. court — of a king
  9. track — a song
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. club — for dancing
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. cold — an illness
  14. current — of water
  15. stock — shares
  16. current — electric
  17. pass — a permit
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. track — to keep track
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. club — for golf
  23. club — a group
  24. court — for 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