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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: current · cold · toast · rush · wind · stock · drill · race

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. race — the arms race
  3. rush — hurry
  4. cold — not warm
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. toast — the most admired
  8. current — happening now
  9. drill — a practice
  10. drill — the tool
  11. stock — goods
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. current — of water
  14. wind — moving air
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. race — humankind
  18. toast — bread
  19. cold — an illness
  20. wind — moving air
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. drill — army training
  23. current — electric
  24. race — a contest

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